


A Sweet Tyranny

by PaulaGay



Category: Koi Suru Bou-kun | The Tyrant Falls in Love
Genre: Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-15 09:45:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 58,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/848092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaulaGay/pseuds/PaulaGay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU:  Morinaga and Tatsumi didn’t meet at University.  Souichi went to school in Tokyo while Tetsuhiro got his degree in Nagoya.  Twelve years later, Souichi is thirty-two and married, Tetsuhiro is thirty and a player who’s never been able to settle down.  The wheel of fate is turning and they’ll finally meet.  What happens then?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: It's an AU fic with OOC moments, adult situations
> 
> Disclaimer: I wish the boys were mine, but they're not! I borrowed the characters from the incomparable Takanaga-sensei.
> 
> I wanted to try telling the story from a later time frame; they're older, established in their careers, a little more settled. Since Souichi went to school in Tokyo, two main incidents haven't happened: He didn't meet Tetsuhiro in his twenties, and he wasn't attacked by the assistant professor, so he's not psychotically homophobic. Otherwise their lives are fairly parallel to the original story.

 

* * *

 

**Love is a sweet tyranny, because the lover endureth his torments willingly. ~Proverb**

* * *

The house was quiet as the two boys entered through the back door. The brunette looked through the first floor before returning to the kitchen and grabbing the blonde's hand. "Come on, Masaki-san! I told you everyone was out for the afternoon."

"Wha…what about Kunihiro, isn't he here?" Masaki asked nervously as he looked around. Tetsuhiro thought he looked like a skittish colt, shying at every sound. It was this helplessness that was so endearing to him; he wanted to protect Masaki-san from the whole world, and take care of him forever.

"You know he went over to his girlfriend's after school let out. It's just us Masaki-san," he took the older boy in his arms and they started kissing. Masaki held on as if Tetsuhiro was a life-line and the only thing keeping him from drowning.

The two boys lived in a rural town and their families and acquaintances were very narrow-minded about almost everything, including sexual orientation. Both boys were gay and neither had felt safe in coming out to their families or friends. At times each had felt as if he was suffocating and it was only natural that they would reach out to each other for comfort and understanding. For Tetsuhiro it was more than just a passing fancy, he'd fallen in love with the older boy and although he was only sixteen, he was very serious about this relationship. For Masaki's part, he wanted to love Tetsuhiro so badly he'd talked himself into believing it really was love he felt. He wasn't nearly so open or honest with his feelings and he was terrified of what would happen if  **that**  one person ever found out about them.

The two boys made it upstairs to Tetsuhiro's bedroom and fell on to the bed. They were giggling at their eagerness and beginning to really get in to it when the bedroom door was thrown open. They both jumped and looked up at Kunihiro. He stood there for a second in shock as Masaki and Tetsuhiro faced him. Masaki looked ashamed; and Tetsuhiro, defiant.

"So you two really are…!" Kunihiro spat out. He was shocked and furious. There was also something else at the back of his heart that he couldn't put a name to but he hated the way it made him feel and he lashed out at the two boys in front of him. "You two are sick! Perverts! How could you do such things together?"

"How could we not, Nii-san?" Tetsuhiro snapped back at his brother. "We love each other and want to be together! There's nothing wrong with wanting to be with the person you love!"

"There is if it's another guy!" Kunihiro snarled back. "It's wrong, gross! You two make me want to barf, just get out of here if you want to act so depraved and twisted!"

"This is my room, you idiot! If you don't want to see, then get out!" Tetsuhiro retorted and pushed his brother out the door and slammed it in his face. As he turned to see how Masaki-san was, he noticed the other boy was crying.

"Masaki-san," he said gently as he kneeled beside his lover, "it's ok now, he's gone."

Masaki just shook his head and kept crying, "Sorry…I'm sorry Tetsuhiro!"

"There's nothing to be sorry for, my brother's an idiot that's all there is to it. Don't let it get to you. He'll come around eventually.…" his voice trailed off when Masaki started shaking his head.

"No he won't! It's all over, and I'm sorry. I used you because you were so kind and understanding. I wanted to love you, I tried; but I can't do it anymore. I love Kunihiro. Kunihiro's the one I love and if he finds me disgusting…I…I can't go on!"

* * *

Tetsuhiro woke with a start. He lay still until his heartbeat returned to normal, then he quietly got out of bed, so as not to wake his current partner. As he walked to the living room he couldn't help but rehash the nightmare he'd just had. 'It's been years since I had that dream, why now?' he groaned. He walked over to the penthouse window and looked down at the empty street as he leaned his forehead on the glass. It felt cool and he needed to calm down. As he closed his eyes and sighed, he heard a sound behind him. When he turned around he saw this evening's lover standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Haru, I didn't mean to wake you," Tetsuhiro smiled at the other man.

"It's ok, I don't mind; but are you alright, Tetsu? You were making a lot of weird sounds right before you woke up and it looked to me like you might be crying."

"I'm fine," he grimaced. "I just had a dream about some ghosts from my past," Tetsuhiro sighed. This is what he got from sleeping with someone who knew him so well. He shouldn't have broken his own rule about not doing friends! If he hadn't been so lonely, and horny, he would have said no when Haru propositioned him. "You might as well go back to bed; I'll be there in a minute."

"Are you sure? I'm a good listener, you know," the other man smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure. We've got an early day tomorrow and need our sleep. There's no sense in us both being sleep deprived!" Tetsuhiro grinned at his friend.

"Ok, good night," Haru knew when to back out gracefully, and he'd known the brunette long enough to know when he needed to be alone.

Tetsuhiro sighed again and went to the kitchen to get a beer. He sat down in the living room to drink it and thought back to that time when he'd been naïve enough to believe that love would always win out. He knew better than that now. There was no such thing as true love, just the occasional encounter with attractive and willing partners. He should be satisfied with that, but he wasn't.

The last six years had been exciting and profitable. He had joined a prestigious pharmaceutical firm during his last year of university and due to some very lucky circumstances; he'd managed to bring about a coup with one of his projects. The resulting payoff had been huge and he'd managed it well and built it into a very tidy fortune. It had sometimes been a ride that made him queasy, like a roller coaster, but for the most part it had been fun and exhilarating. The only drawback had been that he had no one to share it with. There had been lovers, partners…encounters; but no one to truly love. He'd finally given up on finding a genuine love and pursued anyone he was attracted to who showed interest in him. It had been a lonely existence and he desperately wanted a change. He just didn't know how to go about it.

Last month he'd retired from the company and applied to his old alma mater as a prospective teacher. He was young enough and still idealistic enough to want to give back a bit of his good fortune to younger generations. However, he did have an ulterior motive. Nagoya University had a professor that Tetsuhiro desperately wanted to meet and work with. His name was Tatsumi, Souichi Tatsumi and he was brilliant! He was also working in Tetsuhiro's field of study and had made inroads on a project that he had tried to accomplish and been unable to. Tetsuhiro thought that if they pooled their knowledge, they might, just might, succeed where separately, they'd both failed. Anyway, it was worth a shot and tomorrow he was heading back to Nagoya for an interview with that very same professor. Every time he thought about actually meeting his idol he got all nervous and jittery, 'I'm acting like a schoolgirl getting ready to go out with her first crush!' He laughed at his foolishness as he finished the beer and went back to bed to try to get some sleep.

 


	2. Chapter 1

As Tetsuhiro parked his car, he sighed. It had been years since he'd graduated from university and here he was, back again. He never thought he would ever want to return to academia, but the chance had been too good to pass up. If the job was offered and he accepted, he'd step out of the private sector to become an Assistant Professor, and assistant to someone he admired. He was just a little nervous; he'd heard so much about Tatsumi-sensei that he couldn't help himself. He'd heard the professor was strict but not unfair, difficult to work with but damn brilliant, and he was someone whose career Tetsuhiro had followed from afar for two years.

He was so nervous about the next day's interview; he decided to go check out an old haunt from his university days. Adamsite wasn't the trendiest of gay bars, but it  **was**  one of the best he'd ever been to, he knew one of the bartenders, and the clientele wasn't trashy. He thought if he could get laid it might help his nerves; so after dropping his bag at the hotel, he headed downtown.

* * *

It was a slow night at the bar. Hiroto was bored out of his mind and had been absently wiping the same glass for ten minutes when Morinaga walked in. He quickly brightened when he realized who it was, "Angel-kun! Long time, no see; how've you been?" As he looked at his friend, he couldn't help noticing that Tetsuhiro was even better looking than before. He'd been cute in college, kind of puppyish. But now he was just…handsome and very sexy. His face had thinned some and his cheekbones showed more now. He'd also developed some laugh lines around his eyes that appeared when he smiled and added to his overall look. 'God, he's to die for!'

Tetsuhiro grinned as he walked up to the bar, "You're looking fine as always, Hiroto-kun! I really wish you'd stop calling me that, though," he frowned in irritation and shook his head at the bartender. He'd known Hiroto for almost ten years and he knew his friend well enough to know the nickname would never go away, but he just had to try…again.

The two men chatted as the bartender poured him his favorite drink; they had almost three years to catch up on, "Really, Angel-kun, you could stay in touch better you know. How hard is it to pick up a phone?" Hiroto complained with a pout.

Tetsuhiro chuckled, "You know how it is! Things happen and you lose track of time. I'm not the only one to blame for not keeping in touch."

Hiroto grinned, "Guilty as charged! Oh, well you're here now! Why  **are**  you here now, by the way?"

Tetsuhiro quickly explained about the job interview the next day, "He's a professor at my old university so I'm kind of excited. I don't know what type of teacher I'll make, but I really want to work with him; he's brilliant!"

"So does this brilliant teacher have a name?" Hiroto grinned at his friend's enthusiasm.

"It's Souichi Tatsumi." The bartender gave his friend a startled look. Morinaga noticed Hiroto's reaction to the name, "Do you know him?"

"Yeah, he comes in here from time to time. I'd…almost call him a friend," the redhead replied.

"Is he gay? What does he look like?" Morinaga's interest perked up even more than it already had.

"Nah, I should say he and his wife come in when his brother and brother-in-law are in town. What, you've never even seen a picture?"

Tetsuhiro shook his head, "So it's the brother…and they get along? Sensei accepts him?" Tetsuhiro had a rather wistful expression on his face for a moment. Hiroto knew about his family situation so he treaded gently.

"Now he does. When he first found out, he went slightly psychotic; but he got over it. Now, I think he's taking a more 'live and let live' attitude towards the whole thing."

"His brother is very lucky," Tetsuhiro muttered.

"I know," Hiroto replied softly as he patted his friend's hand and walked away to help some new customer's at the end of the bar.

As Tetsuhiro waited for the redhead to return; he glanced around the bar. When the front door opened he turned to check out the newcomers. What he saw was an absolute vision. The man was around his age, almost as tall as he, long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, slim with a tight ass, and the most incredible eyes almost hidden by glasses. When Tetsuhiro realized he was staring, he looked away, took a sip of his drink, and then casually glanced back. The blonde was still there and still gorgeous; he also wasn't alone. He was with a rather interesting group: one woman and three men. Tetsuhiro couldn't tell if he was with one of the others or if they were just random friends. They were obviously celebrating and all were at least a little tipsy. Since his curiosity was piqued, he decided to keep an eye on the group and try to figure out who was with whom; Tetsuhiro moved off to a corner and got comfortable.

As he studied the group he started to make some guesses as to their relationships. He thought the two youngest-looking members of the group were related, probably brother and sister, they were so much alike. The other three were harder to figure out. The gorgeous blonde didn't look much like any of them. The other two men were probably the oldest members of the group and looked like businessmen. One was another blonde (he had short hair) and the other a brunette. There was just a bit of gray showing in the dark hair and he looked kind and rather distinguished, if you liked the type. He was acting very attentive to the youngest man and Tetsuhiro figured they were involved and had been for a while, they looked so comfortable and…right together.

'Ok, so the kid is the girl's brother and the dark haired guy's lover. Where does that leave the other two? Hmm, could they be involved? Nah, they just don't look like they're together. If I had to guess I'd say the girl likes the older of the two and is a bit put out with my favorite,' he chuckled as he saw her snatch the glass away from "his" blonde and then turn and smile sweetly at hers. 'Bingo! I was right about that one.' By this time the group had been in the bar a good half hour and Tetsuhiro's favorite had been steadily getting drunker. It looked like his mood was quickly spiraling downward from very giddy to deeply morose.

The others finally noticed his mood change and decided it was time to leave. They got up and tried to steer him to the front door. However, he had other ideas as he headed over to the bar. There was some discussion between the other four and then the young woman and the older blonde left together. The other couple talked a bit more and the older of the two left as well while the younger man headed for the bar.

"Nii-san, it's time to go home," the younger man frowned.

"Don' wanna!" the blonde spat at the other man. "What I want is another beer; and a whiskey too!"

"What you need is water, not alcohol! What are you trying to do? Have a blackout?"

"So? I jusht want to have some fun…wha's wrong wit that, huh?" he put his head down on the bar and closed his eyes with a sigh.

Morinaga was watching the show more openly now and the older man was completely plastered! There was also something very familiar about him. It wasn't his appearance, Tetsuhiro had never seen him before; it was his attitude and the look in his eyes. He reminded Tetsuhiro of himself years ago. The blonde was hurting, the kind of pain only felt when someone you trusted let you down. He could see it in the amber eyes reflected in the bar's back mirror.

"What are you lookin' at?" he'd been spotted by the drunk blonde.

"I'm looking at you making a fool of yourself," Tetsuhiro answered pleasantly as he walked back to the bar.

"I'm not makin' a fool of myself! I jusht want another drink…" he looked around for Hiroto, who was nowhere in sight.

"I think the bartender stepped to the back a few minutes ago. He'll be back soon," Morinaga said soothingly with a smile.

"Damn, I don't want to loosh my buzz…" he was sounding rather fuzzy, like he was about to pass out.

"My brother's married, not gay," the younger man said quietly to the stranger.

"That's alright, I don't do drunks," Tetsuhiro shot back at the kid. "It's no fun if they can't get it up 'cause of the alcohol. I also have a policy of only screwing guys who know what they're doing. To bed a drunk doesn't sit right with me." He didn't know why he was being so crude toward the younger man, the kid was only trying to help clarify the situation; however, the boy's automatic assumption that he was trying to pick up the blonde rubbed Tetsuhiro the wrong way.

The younger man blushed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. He doesn't usually let himself go this far. I've never seen him like this."

"It's ok, I'm probably over reacting." By this time, the blonde had covered his face and started to cry; he really was a mess. "You need to pour him into a cab and take him somewhere safe to sleep it off. Man, he's going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow!" Tetsuhiro chuckled quietly.

"My friend went to find a cab, can I trouble you to keep an eye on him for a bit?" the kid looked worried about his brother and Morinaga took pity on him.

"Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble; I'll even help you get him into the cab, ok?" The younger man nodded distractedly and stepped outside.

When Tetsuhiro looked down at the drunk beside him he saw one amber-colored eye staring at him. "So you're awake? You're tougher than you appeared at first. I thought you'd have passed out by now," he said softly with a smile.

"Why're you being so nice? You don' know me, do you?" he asked suspiciously.

"No I don't, you just reminded me of myself, oh about fifteen years ago," Tetsuhiro's eyes darkened as he remembered that hellish time.

The blonde noticed the change in him and frowned and said, "I'm sorry…" although he didn't look certain about what he was apologizing for.

Tetsuhiro smiled at him, "It's ok, all water under the bridge now."

The blonde's younger brother came back at that moment and Tetsuhiro helped him maneuver 'his' beauty out to the taxi where the other man was waiting. "Will you be alright from here?" he asked the kid.

The boy smiled, "Yeah, we're taking him to my sister's place. She'll let him crash there."

"Good, take care of him," Tetsuhiro smiled back. "Good night, gorgeous!" he called to the blonde as the taxi pulled away. 'Man, I'd like to catch him, alone, on a night when he's sober,' Tetsuhiro thought as he went back inside.

* * *

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Kanako called out to Souichi as he dragged himself downstairs.

"Ugh," was all Souichi could get out. He had a massive hangover and felt like he'd hurl if he got anywhere near food. As he sat down in the kitchen, Kanako put a bowl of rice porridge down in front of him. He raised an eyebrow as he glared at the food.

"Give it a try, Nii-san, I kept it very simple," Kanako encouraged him. "You should be able to keep it down." As Souichi started to taste it she added, "What happened yesterday? I've never seen you let yourself go like that."

What little appetite he had evaporated in a second and he put his spoon down. "It's nothing much, when I got home yesterday to tell Wakana about the grant, she wasn't interested and we ended up having a fight. She said she couldn't join us to celebrate because she'd made other plans in Tokyo and wasn't going to change them. It hit me hard that she wouldn't postpone her plans to celebrate with us."

Kanako was upset with her sister-in-law, but she was also frustrated with her brother. He could be so self-centered! It was no wonder Wakana got fed up with him. Aloud all she said was "Try to eat Nii-san; you need to get going to school. It wouldn't do for the teacher to be late!"

Souichi smiled as he choked down the food, "Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it." As he ate he thought back on the night before. His wife had been pleased for him, she knew how hard he'd worked; but that was as far as it went. She had no interest in joining the celebration with him and his family. It was becoming more and more like that: his family, her friends; never theirs. She had accused him of his work being his mistress! 'Well, she's a workaholic too!' He thought he'd been a good husband, taking care of the financial side of the relationship. He brought in a good income, it wasn't a fortune, but he was very successful in his field and it reflected in his pay. He knew Wakana liked having fun and running around with her friends and he made sure she could hold her own with them. She was also quite successful in her own right, so they were debt free and had their own home.

After a few moments he had to be honest and admit that he worked incredibly long hours and sometimes when he came home he was so exhausted he couldn't even think about anything more intimate than having dinner and crashing into bed. As he thought about it he had to admit that he hadn't been the most attentive of lovers; in fact he couldn't remember the last time they'd made love. He frowned at that. He supposed this was the main reason she was acting so distant. He wished she'd talk to him if there was a problem. They had been such good friends before their marriage he thought they could talk about anything; she'd been the one who had helped him adjust after the shock of finding out his little brother had a much older male lover. He'd wanted to kill that Kurokawa at the time and she'd helped him see how good they were together; and after eight years they were still going strong whereas he….  His marriage was floundering after only six. Suddenly, when he realized where his thoughts were headed, he shied away from them. He wasn't ready to give up on them yet; he hoped she wasn't either.

Once he got sick of dwelling on his 'life's partner' his mind drifted back to the final bar they'd been in last night. It was a gay bar his brother had introduced him to a few years back. He liked the ambiance and the head bartender was fun to talk to. The men who frequented the place were used to him and didn't bother him anymore now they knew he was married. The spoon stopped halfway to his mouth as an image of a dark haired man flashed before his eyes. He'd spoken a bit gruffly but his expression had been kind. There was something about his eyes, the way his smile made them twinkle…and how they had filled with pain. At that point Souichi stopped thinking at all and concentrated on finishing his breakfast, 'Well, I'll never see him again so it doesn't matter.' Somehow that thought depressed him even more.

* * *

Tetsuhiro's interview was in the afternoon and as he got ready for it he couldn't help but think back to the previous evening. That blonde had been so fine; he was the kind of man who could completely captivate him. 'He was  **so**  my type!' Tetsuhiro wondered how he was holding up after last night's binge. He'd been completely smashed; he should have been puking all night long. Morinaga hoped he was alright. If he got the job, he was determined to find that lovely man and do his best to convince him that he could be happy, if he would but reach for it. That thought brought him up short. What was he thinking? He was the last person to be considering …that kind of relationship. Fate, destiny, love at first sight, etc. didn't mean a damn thing; they were all just pretty words to throw around.

He sighed as he fixed his tie and brushed his hair. Well, he'd find him and convince him they could have fun together anyway. That made him smile; he imagined the blonde, his hair mussed, writhing under him as Tetsuhiro drove him crazy. That could be wonderful too! He came back to reality with a bit of a thump as he realized what time it was. He finally shook off his mood as he hurried to the university to face his destiny.

After he reached the school, he walked around campus before he headed to the Ag. Sciences building; it hadn't changed much, he noticed. It was a lovely campus; the open areas were very park-like and peaceful. He suddenly felt he could be happy here if he and the professor got along. As he walked through the building to reach Tatsumi-sensei's office, he kept getting stopped by faculty members who'd taught him and remembered him from his student days. They were happy to welcome him back; he'd forgotten how encouraging everyone had been back then. He felt as if he'd come home. It had been so long since he'd had that sense of belonging, he got rather sentimental. For a second he thought he'd cry; then he pulled himself together and continued to the professor's office.

A secretary asked him to sit while she checked to see if the professor was ready for him. A moment later she smiled and motioned him to the correct office. As he entered he was almost blinded by the light from the open window opposite the door. He could see a figure standing, looking out but the afternoon sunlight was so bright, that was all he could see. "Tatsumi-sensei?" he asked. The figure at the window turned around and Tetsuhiro heard a gasp. As the man moved away from the window he finally got a good look at him and Tetsuhiro felt a shiver run down his back. 'This isn't good,' was his primary thought as he realized he was gazing at the vision from the night before.

 


	3. Chapter 2

"Shit! What are  **you**  doing here?" were the first words out of Souichi's mouth once he got his voice back and his jaw working.

'Well, he remembered me!' Tetsuhiro thought. "My name's Morinaga and I have an appointment with Professor Tatsumi. Is that you?" he replied coolly. He masked his feelings carefully. He didn't want to look rattled in front of the man; and boy was he rattled! Suddenly this job became even more interesting to him. He couldn't believe his luck; the person whose mind he'd admired for the past two years was his beauty from the night before. He quickly decided to play it cool. He didn't want the professor to throw him out…not without a proper hearing at least.

Souichi, for his part, had some strongly conflicting emotions to deal with. He was shocked that this was the same guy from the night before. He would never want any colleague to see him like that…and not at that particular bar either! Of course since Morinaga had been there, that probably meant he was a homo…and he'd shown some interest in him the night before. Souichi didn't need  **that**  particular complication at work! But, in Souichi's opinion, the man was brilliant and just what he needed in order to complete some very important research. There was another feeling floating around in the mix but he couldn't put a name to it offhand. He decided he'd figure that part out later. "…I see, please sit down Morinaga," he indicated a chair in front of his desk.

Tetsuhiro walked over and sat down with a small sigh of relief. It looked like he wouldn't be thrown out…yet.

Souichi reached across his desk to grab his notes and then sat down in the chair next to the brunette. "I'm willing to forget about the fool I made of myself last night, if you are," he began. He wanted to clear the air before starting.

"That's fine with me, Professor," the gorgeous green eyes Souichi remembered from the night before flashed with amusement. Tetsuhiro thought he still might have a chance, 'I really want this job!'

As the two men got comfortable and started the interview, it quickly became obvious to the younger man that Tatsumi-sensei was as much a fan of his as he was of the professors. It was also apparent that the interview was more of a formality than a necessity. As they talked it turned out that they had many mutual acquaintances. It was rather surprising they'd never met before, all things considered. Two hours flew by while they discussed each other's research and argued formulas and procedures…they had a great time!

"Well Morinaga, do you think you can work with me?" Souichi asked at the conclusion.

"I believe the two of us could make a hell of a team," Tetsuhiro assured him with a smile. "Does that mean I have the job?"

"You do under two conditions: One, I tend to be a complete bastard and a slave driver when it comes to work. I don't cut myself any slack and I won't cut you any either. Can you handle that?"

"Yes...That's one, what's the second?" Tetsuhiro asked interested in what this man would come up with next.

"Second, I don't hold with bringing personal issues to work. I don't come in and take my marital problems out on my colleagues and I don't expect my colleagues to do that to me. Can you accept that?" Souichi was proud that he'd voiced this worry without bringing orientation into it. That didn't last long.

"So you have marital problems?" Tetsuhiro asked innocently, hiding a grin. As Souichi tried to think of a comeback he continued, "Don't worry, Sensei, I won't bring my personal life to work. However, don't try to tell me what I can or can't do outside of work, ok?" He gave Souichi a straight look with an eyebrow raised and the blonde nodded as he swallowed nervously.

"I wouldn't ever try to tell you how to live your life; just…leave it at the door when you're here!" Souichi was embarrassed and he got a bit snappish to cover for it.

"Then we understand each other," Tetsuhiro answered with a wink.

* * *

"…and then he showed me around campus and to human resources and we parted ways," Tetsuhiro concluded.

"Sounds like you had a nice time," Hiroto grinned at his friend. "Do you think he was warning you not to come on to him at work?"

"Probably, he saw I was interested last night; he wasn't too drunk to get that! He also let me know in a roundabout way that he was married, which I can appreciate," the brunette took a sip of his drink as he thought over the interview. "He's easily as brilliant as I thought he was and I genuinely like the guy. It's just an added incentive that he provides a bit of eye candy as well!"

Hiroto laughed at the lascivious look on his friend's face, then he got serious, "Just don't do anything stupid. His wife's a sweetheart and I wouldn't take kindly to either of them being hurt."

Tetsuhiro sighed, "How long have you known me, Hiroto-kun? Come on! It's a pity, but if he's taken, that's it. I would like to meet her though."

"I'm sure you'll get the chance, Angel-kun," Hiroto moved off down the bar to wait on another customer.

As Tetsuhiro relaxed and sipped his drink he looked around the bar. It was getting a bit crowded and the local talent was coming out of the woodwork. He grinned as he caught the eye of a blonde across the room. He was cute, a little young, but sexy as hell.

Since Hiroto was busy, the dark-haired man got another bartender's attention and when he came to take his order said, "See the blonde against the wall? Send him whatever he's drinking with my compliments. Thanks!"

Soon after the drink was sent the seat next to him was taken. 'Tonight's looking up,' Tetsuhiro turned to smile at his new acquaintance.

* * *

"So, what was he like?" Wakana eagerly asked her husband as they sat down to dinner. She was a perky brunette with laughing grey eyes. She seemed to bounce when she walked and Souichi had originally been drawn to her bubbly personality. She was his age and they had met during their first year at University. He'd been withdrawn and anti-social and she'd just ignored all that and barreled on into his life. They were as opposite as two people could get; but there were some similarities: they were both workaholics and rather self-involved.

Souichi frowned as he thought about the question, "He's smart, a bit arrogant, and has a weird sense of humor. He's a couple years younger than me, and to have accomplished all he has in such a short amount of time, his intelligence must be off the charts. He's good looking so the female students will love him; that'll help me out a bit," he chuckled at how disappointed the girls were going to be; but if Morinaga drew them away from him it was all good. He smiled a bit grimly; the damned coeds always gave him a hard time at the beginning of each semester. It usually took a couple weeks for them to settle down to what they were in school for. "I think he'll handle the flirting better than I do. It seems like he'd know how to gently let them down."

Wakana sat back and listened to Souichi describe his new assistant. She was glad he'd found someone he could work with who could share the work load. She had to admit she was thrilled her husband finally had someone who could talk the same language. Every time he tried to explain things to her, she got a headache. 'Maybe he can take my place at the faculty get-togethers! They are sooo boring!' "He's good looking, huh? What does he look like?" she asked grinning.

"Hmmm, he's a bit taller than I am; dark brown hair, it's wavy and all over the place; green eyes," he fell silent as those eyes flashed again in his memory. "He's very attractive," he continued. "That's why the girls are gonna love him! It's too bad for them that he's gay," he chortled.

She frowned at the last statement, "That isn't something that normally comes up at an interview."

"Oh, no it didn't. Last night, Tomoe ended the evening by dragging us to Adamsite and he was there talking to Hiroto. Of course I didn't know it was him at the time.  **That's** what came out at the interview," he looked a little uncomfortable at the memory.

Wakana eagerly leaned forward, "Do you think he and Hiroto are…you know?"

"Nah, they didn't look that close. I think they're just friends," Souichi smiled at her eagerness.

She pouted, "Too bad, it would be nice if Hiroto settled down."

"Somehow, I don't think he's the type. You really need to stop trying to play matchmaker with everyone you know," Souichi knew how tired her friends got with her schemes.

"You're probably right, but I like to see people I care about settled down and happy," she sighed.

"Some of them might be happier not being tied down!" he shot back and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'd at least like to meet him," she sighed.

"I'm sure you will," he answered dryly.

* * *

As the weeks passed, Tetsuhiro found a new apartment and settled in. He'd start teaching his own classes at the beginning of the next semester, but for now he was assisting Souichi. He found the work interesting and his boss both challenging and frustrating. The blonde had been honest when he described himself as a bastard at work and he was running the younger man ragged. Tetsuhiro was up to the challenge and enjoyed keeping his testy boss off balance. Souichi had quickly realized what his assistant was up to and started lobbing vocal grenades right back at him. The students who witnessed their sparring matches wondered just how much the two men actually liked each other; it was hard to tell sometimes whether they were friends or enemies.

About a month into the job, Tetsuhiro was late to the lab and Souichi was silently fuming while he compiled his notes. 'Where is the idiot? We need to get started early today or we'll be here all night. Wakana will kill me if I stand her up…again!' The door slammed open and the blonde whirled around to see his assistant barreling in. One look and the older man could tell Morinaga was pissed. His anger evaporated as he watched the other man throw his coat across the room.

"Anything wrong, Morinaga?" he asked mildly as he went to pick up the coat and drape it over a chair.

Tetsuhiro glared at his boss and snapped, "Nothing!" He suddenly realized how he was acting and he started to calm down. "Sorry. I was blindsided by some friends and it seems I'm having a housewarming party Friday night. I told them not to do anything special, so what do they do? They plan it around me at  **my**  place no less! I literally had  **my**  door slammed in  **my**  face today when I went home to grab some notes. Oh, you, your wife, and anyone else you want to bring are invited, by the way. It starts around 8:00 pm. I can't guarantee the company, but the refreshments will be stellar," he had ranted his way back into a good mood and was grinning by the time the invitation was out of his mouth.

Souichi shook his head and wryly asked, "So are you in a better mood now? You're late and I refuse to stay here 'til midnight again," he glared at the idiot as they started to get to work.

"That's fine, if I need to I'll stay and you can cut out early. You won't need me until tomorrow afternoon anyway, so I can sleep in if necessary," Tetsuhiro got down to work to make up for his tardiness while Souichi started seething again.

"Did anyone ever tell you, you're too nice? That's going to get you into trouble one of these days," he snapped at the younger man.

"Has anyone ever told you, you're too cranky? You're never satisfied and that's worse!" he threw back at his boss from across the room.

Souichi went back to his desk and sat down with his notes again. "Well, excuse me for being a perfectionist! I don't think there's anything wrong with striving to do your best work at work. Playing around and coming in late is inexcusable."

Tetsuhiro sighed, "I am sorry for running late. I do try not to let that happen; today was definitely an exception. I don't like being used as an excuse to have a party, especially when I'm footing the bill!" he started to get ticked off again.

"So tell them to take a flying leap and cancel it!" the blonde snapped.

"If I did, they'd figure another way around it and I'd still be stuck playing host," he sighed as he got to work. "I hope you come," he added, "it'll make the evening much more enjoyable, and I'd like to meet your wife."

"Sure, why not? Don't forget to give me your new address. Wakana's been wanting to meet you too, so that'll be perfect."

"Good," he smiled, "and the rest of your family, if possible. They looked like a fun bunch."

"They're nothing but a bunch of trouble makers," Souichi grumped. "Kanako might be available that night. Tomoe and his partner are back in the states for a few weeks."

"Do they live there?" Tetsuhiro was curious. He thought everyone was local.

"Not anymore; however Tomoe still has business interests there and Kurokawa helps him manage them. They have to make periodic trips to check on things."

"So, what do they do?" Tetsuhiro finished with the first set of samples and moved over to the second set to record their results.

"Tomoe is in robotics and Kurokawa keeps track of the day-to-day stuff that Tomoe always forgets. I swear that boy  **needs**  a keeper! That's something Kurokawa is good at."

"Don't like the older lover much, huh?" the brunette asked with a chuckle.

"He's alright," Souichi sighed. "He's just such a housewife!" He shook his head in disgust, "I don't get it; how could any man settle for that role? It doesn't make sense to me."

"Well some people are natural caregivers, it's what makes them happiest. I know when I'm serious about someone, my natural instinct is to take care of them, support them in whatever way I can."

"Yeah, I guess I feel that too, to some extent. But for me that would be moral and financial support,  **not**  cooking, cleaning, etc."

Tetsuhiro sat back and tried to imagine Souichi in an apron; of course an image of him naked in an apron popped up and that led to some even more inappropriate ideas, which caused him to jump up and excuse himself for a few minutes, "Sensei, I need some coffee, would you like me to get you a cup too?"

Souichi barely looked at him as he answered, "Sure, black please; and thanks."

'I have got to stop with the fantasizing! It's getting out of control. Tetsuhiro get your head out of the gutter. I'm too horny, that's what it is! I haven't been able to go out and play as much as I used to,' he thought as he hurried to the cafeteria for the coffee. 'I'm treading on dangerous ground here! I can't let myself get carried away. If he knew he'd kill me, for real!'

After Tetsuhiro got the coffee, he sat down in the cafeteria for a bit. 'What exactly do I like about him, besides the physical?' He thought about it, 'It's the way he lights up when he's discussing a promising student, the way he jumps on the results when a theory is proven…or disproven.' Tetsuhiro smiled to himself, 'It's the way he loves and protects his family, it's…it's…his passion. That's what's drawing me in." He sat up in shock, 'No, no, no! What am I doing? I absolutely can't-!' He paled, jumped up and practically ran to the office. He needed to sort this out before he saw Souichi again. As he sat down at his desk, the truth came crashing in on him. This wasn't some momentary whim, he was sure. He groaned, "Why did it have to be him!?" as he put his head on the desk. He was sitting there feeling sorry for himself and occasionally muttering about his lousy taste in men when he heard the door open.

"Nii-san! I'm here…" he heard the voice of a young woman and raised his head so he could see her, with his chin resting on the desk.

"Hello," he half-smiled at the pretty brunette. "He's in the lab. I take it you're looking for Tatsumi-sensei?"

The woman, a girl really, nodded as she looked at him with a grin on her face. She noticed that he looked tired and a bit frustrated, but he seemed kind. "Yes, he's my brother, my name's Kanako," she answered.

"I thought so; he talks about you a lot!" Tetsuhiro sat up properly. "If you'd like, I could take you to him," he offered. He hoped she'd turn down his offer, he still needed a little more time, but he knew Sensei would be wondering what was taking him so long.

"I'm not sure where it's located," she laughed. "But if he's riding you too hard and you need a break, I can ask someone else."

He grinned, "He's not really riding me hard; I just…needed a little air." He went on to introduce himself as he escorted her to her brother. By the time they reached the lab, they were talking like old friends, as if they'd known each other forever.

When they entered the lab, Tetsuhiro felt a chill in the air. His boss had his back to the door and waves of murderous intent were rolling off him. "Mo-ri-na-ga," came out as a growl as Souichi turned to face him. "Just how far did you have to go to get the coffee? Did you have to wait for it to be ground and roasted? Do you know how long it's been!?" He saw Kanako and paused then he saw that Morinaga's hands were empty. " **Where**  is the coffee?" he asked in an unnaturally calm tone.

"Oh shit," muttered the younger man. "Um, I'll go get some more," Tetsuhiro tried to get away but he felt a hand on his shirt collar. He was suddenly flung back into the room as a livid Sensei loomed over him.

"No! I'll go this time," Souichi said through clenched teeth. "You stay and actually get some work done! Do you have any idea how much time you've wasted today!? What the hell's got into you?" The last question reverberated through the lab as Souichi stormed out with Kanako following in his wake.

Tetsuhiro sighed as he got down to work, " **You've** gotten into me, Sensei. Why did it have to be you?" he groaned.

 


	4. Chapter 3

"Nii-san! How could you talk to poor Morinaga-san that way? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

They had quickly walked to the cafeteria while Souichi worked off his anger at his assistant, "He deserved it! I specifically told him I didn't want to be here all night, and what does he do? He disappears for almost an hour. And he came in late today, too! It's too much!"

Kanako gave him a disgusted look, "You're always like this, you get too carried away when you're working and you treat everyone like slaves. You're not fair Nii-san, not fair at all!"

He thought about that as he sat down, rather grumpily. He knew he could be a bear at work, he had warned that idiot at the beginning! "I told him what I'm like at work and he said he could handle it," he countered a bit defensively.

"Hearing what you're like and actually experiencing it are two different things," she answered ironically. "Think a little before you fly all over the guy next time or he'll get fed up with you and leave."

"I'll think about it," he replied. "By the way, he's having a housewarming party thrown for him on Friday. Would you like to come with us? I'm pretty sure Wakana will jump at the chance once she hears about it and that baka said the more the merrier."

She looked at him as if he were crazy, "After the scene I just witnessed, you're going to a party for him? Are you nuts?"

"What? He's a colleague, of course I'm going. Why wouldn't I?" He honestly didn't get his sister's reasoning at times.

* * *

The end of the week came quickly. Tetsuhiro had begun to look forward to the party. A couple of acquaintances that Souichi had been dying to meet were going to be there. The brunette had kept  **that**  a secret from his boss and he was excited at how surprised Sensei would be. Souichi would be in heaven and that made Tetsuhiro squirm in delight.

For his part, the blonde had slowly begun panicking and it had been building as the week passed. He'd taken Kanako's warning to heart and was worried Morinaga  **would** quit after having enough of his temper. Souichi didn't want that! He knew the two of them had the chance to do great things together and he didn't want to screw it up. He was hoping to clear the air in a relaxed atmosphere, and the party was the perfect setting.

By Friday night, Souichi was way past nervous and when he and his two ladies got to the apartment complex, he was stunned. He'd never been inside this particular building before. It was geared toward the elite and the security in the place ensured privacy.

"Did you know he lived here?" Wakana asked, fascinated and wide-eyed.

"Unh, uh," Souichi gave the security guard his name and after being checked off, they were shown to an elevator in an alcove off the lobby.

As soon as the doors shut Kanako exclaimed, "WOW! How on earth did you get him to be  **your**  assistant? This is a private elevator; it only goes to his apartment!" She paused, "Is he married?"

"Shut up! No he isn't and he's not likely to either. Please don't embarrass me tonight," he snapped a little desperately. By this time the elevator had arrived and they stepped out into a quietly elegant entryway. 'This isn't anything like Morinaga,' he thought. Then the door opened, and there he was. He was wearing black denims and a turtleneck that looked black in the low light, but on closer inspection was a very dark blue, 'Damn, he looks…good,' the thought came unbidden to Souichi's mind and he promptly squashed it as his assistant started talking.

"It's about time you showed up; I thought you'd gotten lost. Hello," he turned to Wakana, "please introduce us, Sensei," he added with a smile.

As introductions were made and Wakana was getting acquainted with their host, Souichi looked around. The apartment, what he could see of it, was huge. It had an open floor plan and each room flowed into the other. The windows ran floor-to-ceiling along one wall; one of them was a sliding glass door that led to a patio. It was a great party area if you had a large gathering to deal with, like tonight. He could see Morinaga's taste stamped into the décor. The whole place had a comfortable feel and utterly reflected its owner's personality.

Tetsuhiro introduced the three newcomers to some of the other guests and soon everyone was separated. Once he'd introduced Souichi to the two men his boss had wanted to meet and they were happily arguing, he excused himself and went out on the balcony for some air. He was glad to see the party running smoothly and everyone having a good time. After a while it got quiet and as he was about to go back inside the door opened again. He half-turned and saw Souichi walking up behind him.

"Ah, here you are. It's on nights like this I wish I hadn't stopped smoking," the older man sighed as he walked up beside Tetsuhiro and leaned on the railing.

His host softly laughed, "I didn't know you used to smoke."

"Yeah, when I was young and stupid," he grunted as he glanced sideways at the brunette. In this light his hair had golden tints in it, Souichi noticed. There was a soft breeze that blew it across his forehead and against his cheek, 'I can see why Kanako is so captivated,' popped into his mind and he had an impulse to reach out and smooth his hair back. Souichi stopped himself in time before Morinaga noticed anything and he was glad it was so dark out, it hid the confused flush covering his face. 'What's wrong with me?'

* * *

Wakana had been searching for both her host and husband and saw them together outside as Souichi reached up. She was going to interrupt them but…something stopped her. It didn't seem like a conversation she should interrupt. The door wasn't closed completely and she unashamedly listened in.

"Look, Morinaga," Souichi turned to face the younger man, "I have a question to ask you."

"Hmm?" Tetsuhiro smiled at his boss as he waited to hear what he had to say.

"Um, are you, uh…happy with your position at the University?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, I am," Tetsuhiro frowned. "What's up? You should know I'm enjoying myself by now. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"Well," the blonde cleared his throat, "I thought that maybe my temper might make you change your mind about working with me?"

Tetsuhiro was surprised, "No way, you were worried about that? Thanks, Sensei, but it isn't necessary. I have a very thick skin and your temper doesn't bother me at all. It wouldn't make me leave."

The relief showed on Souichi's face, "Good, I thought I'd screwed up earlier this week."

"Why?" Tetsuhiro was curious, "What gave you that idea?"

"Kanako chewed me out after we left the other day and her remarks…worried me. I know my temper…" he frowned.

"Ah," the younger man sighed. "It's not your temper that would make me leave, so don't worry Sensei," he repeated.

Souichi said in a rush, "You've become a very important partner to me; I  **don't**  want you to leave." He continued to himself, 'Good. I don't know what I'd do….'

Tetsuhiro's heart began to pound and he took a deep breath to calm himself as he faced the blonde. He almost reached out to touch Souichi's face; but stopped himself in time and with his hand fisted, lightly tapped the other man's shoulder and answered softly, "Our partnership is just as important to me too." They stood shoulder to shoulder looking out at the neighborhood in companionable silence for a few minutes, and then the younger man leaned in and said, "Would you like to see the rest of the place?"

Souichi grinned, "Sure that sounds great."

As they headed back inside, Tetsuhiro noticed that the party was breaking up. After they'd finished touring the guest rooms, "For crying out loud, how  **many**  do you have!?" the bathrooms, "You could have an orgy in here if you wanted to!" and the younger man's office, "Whoa, this is great, I like the computer set-up," they headed back to the living room.

"Come by sometime when there's nothing going on and I'll give you a tour of my bedroom," Tetsuhiro whispered with a comical leer.

"I. Don't. Think. So," Souichi responded with a nervous chuckle as Kanako rushed up to them.

"It's about time I found you two! Wakana isn't feeling well and needs to go home," she glared at her brother.

Both men looked concerned. "Where is she?" Souichi started looking around for his wife. "We'll need to get going," he said to Morinaga, who was also looking around for her.

"Of course, you need to take care of her. I'll see you on Monday," he had spotted Wakana near the front door and the group went over to check on her.

"I'm sorry for spoiling the fun," she looked both upset and ill. She couldn't look either man in the face. Tetsuhiro reassured her that she wasn't.

"More than anything else, you need to take care of yourself," he said kindly as he escorted them to the door.

"Nii-san, I'm sorry," Kanako stopped her brother, "I need to speak to Morinaga-san for a bit. I'll take a taxi home."

Souichi looked extremely annoyed, "We came together; I'd rather see you home. You're being troublesome!"

"You need to concentrate on Wakana, I'll be fine!" Kanako was starting to get pissed at the big idiot. She wanted to give them some time alone and she really wanted to talk privately with their host. When it looked like an argument was about to break out, Tetsuhiro took over.

"I'll make sure she gets home safely, don't worry, Sensei."

"She's inconveniencing everyone!" Souichi glared.

"It's not a problem, really," he smiled as he saw them off.

As the elevator doors closed Wakana looked nervously at her husband, "I'm sorry to take you away early."

He gave her a small smile, "It's no problem; the party was winding down anyway."

"Umm, do you think he's a good 'partner' for you?" she asked. When Souichi looked at her questioningly she continued, "I couldn't help but overhear a bit of your conversation on the patio. So what  **do**  you think of him?"

"I'm not sure what you're getting at but I depend on him. He's important," he flushed and quickly continued, "…to my research. I wouldn't want to lose him," he whispered almost to himself.

"I see," she was watching the emotions as they crossed Souichi's face. 'Is he completely unaware? Well, I've got nothing to lose!' she sighed. "When we get home, I think I'm going straight to bed." She smiled up at him and asked playfully, "Would you like to tuck me in?"

It took a moment for the implications to sink in, "I thought you weren't feeling well?"

"I think some time alone, just the two of us, might be all the medicine I need."

* * *

When Tetsuhiro went back into the apartment he saw that the caterers were cleaning up and just about everyone was gone. Kanako was looking around the place trying to stay out of the way. He showed her to his office and told her to wait, then finished winding down the party and seeing the last stragglers off. At last he headed for his office and his final guest.

"Ok, we're alone now; what can I do for you?" he stopped right inside the door and crossed his arms across his chest.

She smiled very sweetly, "I need your help with a difficult situation."

"Um hmm, and?" he cocked an eyebrow at her. He knew she was up to something; however her next statement surprised the hell out of him.

"I need your help making someone jealous. It won't be easy, but I think you'd be perfect to set him off. If anyone could do it, it would be you!" She looked at him as if this was just a normal conversation, and waited until he got his jaw working again.

"Wha- why…huh?" he waved his hand in front of his face to let her know he needed a moment. As he sat down on the sofa, he said, "Ok, I really don't think I'm the right person for this, but explain it to me slowly…and with more details!"

She made herself comfortable next to him and began, "He's a man I've known since I was fourteen. He's a friend of my brother-in-law. I've loved him for years, and when I was sixteen I confessed to him. After he got over his hysterical laughter and realized I was serious he told me to come back when I was an adult. I re-confessed on my last birthday and he said to get back to him when I finished college. I don't know if he's putting me off because he thinks it's a joke; or if it's because he knows the age difference could cause problems if we rushed into a relationship without being prepared." She met Tetsuhiro's eyes, "I really love him and I have to know how he actually feels about me. If he loves me back, I can be patient and wait."

"And if he doesn't?" the brunette asked gently.

"Then I'll give up and move on," was her answer.

"Don't you think he might have given you his answer by putting you off?"

She shook her head, "No. I've dated other guys; boys during high school. I even got serious about one. Tai has found fault with them all. Even Sou-kun couldn't dislike  **all**  of them! That has to mean  **something**  don't you think?" she asked a little desperately.

"What do you want me to do?" was all Tetsuhiro asked.

She looked at him in relief, "There's a party coming up. It's the wedding of a friend of Tomoe's and he'll be there. Could you go as my date?"

He looked at her shrewdly, "Come on, out with the rest!"

She smiled a bit sheepishly, "Weeell, uhm, can you act really interested in me? You know, like you can't keep your hands off and stuff? I want Tai left in no doubt where we're going after the reception." She muttered grimly, "If that doesn't get him, nothing will!"

Morinaga started to get a bit worried, "I'm not sure I'm that good of an actor. You know, you're  **really**  not my type, right? And if he does have feelings for you, I run a good chance of getting clobbered!"

She started to look like she'd won, "If you know what to look out for, I don't think he'll be able to hit you. And if I'm not your type that's even better! You're gorgeous, single, wealthy, and considerably older than I am. You'd be the perfect threat to him, I know it! Please?"

All he could do was stare at her. He was both flattered and frustrated; he knew this could be a disaster if it wasn't handled right and he didn't want her getting hurt. He already had an idea how he could handle things during the reception, once the alcohol started flowing.

"Ok…I'll do it," he made up his mind, "on one condition: your brother has to approve the plan. I won't go through with it if he has any major objections, ok?"

Kanako groaned, "There's no way he'll approve it! He's not very fond of Tai due to the whole incident with Tomoe and Mitsugu."

Tetsuhiro chuckled at the look on her face, "Let me explain the situation, you never know. I want to ask you something; does this guy have short blonde hair, blue eyes, slim-ish, and about two inches shorter than me?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?" she was looking at him with something close to awe.

"Don't be so impressed!" he laughed outright. "I saw the whole group on my first night in town. You, your brothers and two older men, a brunette and a blonde were together. I was at Adamsite when you guys came in, although I didn't know who everyone was at the time."

"Oh!" she covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes got big. " **That's**  why I'm not your type? That sucks!"

"Sucks for who?" he asked with a grin.

"All the poor, lonely women in the world who haven't got a snowball's chance, that's who!" she retorted, grinning.

"Well, yeah, them," he smiled. "Come on, kiddo, I'm taking you home."

 


	5. Chapter 4

When Tetsuhiro arrived at school on Monday he went straight to the office. He knew Souichi would want to know what happened after he'd left and the younger man needed it settled as soon as possible. Souichi was sitting at his desk looking grumpy when his assistant blew in.

"Good morning Sensei!" came the usual greeting. "How's your wife feeling?"

"Mornin'," came the usual response. "She's fine now. I think she was just tired. So what did my foolish little sister do to you after we left?"

"Nothing much; she only asked me to attend a wedding with her next month," he rejoined with a chuckle.

"I knew it! I knew when she asked me if you were married, she'd do something stupid. Did you let her down easy?" Souichi grinned.

"She's not interested in me. She wants me to help her make someone else jealous."

"Huh? Who!?" he looked confused.

Tetsuhiro then went on to explain the situation in detail to a stunned Souichi. The blonde had never seen it coming, "Why would she fall for that snarky little salary man? Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be  **him**?"

The younger man chuckled and then settled down to the heart of the matter. "Sensei, thinking objectively, is he a bad man?"

Souichi thought a minute, "No, he isn't bad. He's cunning, with a weird sense of humor, and I never see what he's up to until it's too late." He added a second later, "He  **is**  too old for her though!"

"I tend to agree with you on that part; but it's not up to us, is it? If she isn't bothered by it why should we be?"

"Well, I should be 'cause I'm her brother! He and Kurokawa are the same age. It's about a fifteen year age difference, that's too much!"

"There's a big age gap between Kurokawa and your brother, right?" asked Tetsuhiro.

"Yeah, almost ten years."

"And it's working for them isn't it?" he continued gently.

Souichi glared, "Yes it is; I see where you're going with this, but I still don't like it."

The younger man sighed as he sat down, "Well, he may not love her the way she wants him to. This whole act could backfire. I've got some ideas about how to push his buttons so he'll admit it either way. Is it ok with you if I help her?"

"Why are you asking me that?" the blonde frowned in confusion.

"That's simple. I told her I'd do it only if you didn't have any major issues with the idea."

Souichi shook his head, "Why bring me in to it?"

"You're my boss…we have to work together, remember? I don't want to make our daily routine difficult. If you hate the idea, I won't do it."

Souichi started grinning, then laughed, "Go ahead! If nothing else, it'll be a good show and one way or the other, Kanako will have her answer. I'll enjoy watching you wind that idiot up!"

"It'll only work if he doesn't know I'm gay, remember? He can't find that part out! So warn anyone that knows the truth before the wedding, ok?" Tetsuhiro wanted that part to be crystal clear or the whole game would fail.

"I'll warn Wakana. I don't think it's been mentioned to anyone else, it's not their business."

"Yeah, be sure to warn her. Ok, I'll let Kanako-chan know it's on. I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered as he texted the good news to the girl.

* * *

Wakana caught up with Kanako before classes. When the younger woman saw her sister-in-law she waved her over to her table in the cafeteria. "Waka-chan what brings you all the way out here? Did my brother forget something?"

"No, I came here to see you. Did you ask Morinaga-san?" she leaned forward as Kanako brought her up to date.

"So the upshot is that he'll do it if Nii-san doesn't object," Kanako finished.

"If I know Souichi, he'll be all for it if only to make Taichirou miserable," Wakana chuckled. "It's beginning to look like the reception will be very entertaining!"

As the two women talked, the conversation turned toward the two men, "What do you think of Morinaga-san, Kana?"

"I like him!" Kanako quickly responded. "He's like a big cuddly teddy bear; you just want to hug the stuffing out of him!"

The older woman smiled at her enthusiasm, "Then what do you think of his and Souichi's relationship?"

Kanako frowned, "They like and respect each other. They're comfortable together. Why are you asking?"

Wakana didn't answer, just asked another question, "Do you think they might be… **too**  comfortable together?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

* * *

The wedding day finally arrived and Tetsuhiro was on his way to pick up Kanako. He'd dressed very carefully for the big day. The wedding would be causal so he'd picked an outfit that would look appropriate at the wedding and sexy as hell out on the dance floor at the reception.

What Kanako saw when she got into the older man's car was a vision. He was dressed in dark grey slacks, an emerald green shirt that matched his eyes, a tie that matched the pants and a slightly lighter heather grey blazer. 'Whoa!' She shook her head in amazement as they headed for the hotel. "You look good enough to eat, Morinaga-san!" was the best she could say.

He laughed and blushed at the compliment, "Don't get too carried away, Kanako. Remember, we're dating; call me by my first name or it'll look weird. It'll also give your brother something to complain about which will make the whole thing seem more realistic."

"Alright…Tetsuhiro," it felt weird saying it, so she said it a few more times while they talked. "Tai's coming with Tomoe; my brother has been filling him in on my new man, so be ready for his reaction, Tetsuhiro."

He smiled a bit grimly, "No one's told him about 'Morinaga, your brother's gay assistant,' have they?"

"The night before the interview, Sou-kun mentioned your name and how excited he was about meeting you, but that's all."

"Nothing else?" he asked sharply.

"No, nothing at all; Souichi, Wakana, and I are the only ones who know and we're not talking! I think that secret is safe."

He looked relieved, "Good, I'd hate for this to be over before it even starts. Well…we're here," he turned to face her. "Are you ready?" He noticed how nervous she was and reached over for her hand, "Relax, Kanako; it'll be fine. You'll be around people who only want your happiness, don't forget that."

She started to relax as she looked at him and before he could get out of the car she threw her arms around him, "Thank you so much for this, Tetsuhiro! I'll never forget it." As she hugged him, he saw their target waiting at the front entrance.

When she started to pull away, he whispered, "We're on…are you ready?" He pulled away enough to kiss her, gently on the lips and then against her hair as he said, "Look at 2 o'clock," and when she did she was looking into the shocked face of Taichirou Isogai.

* * *

"Kanako-chan, where did you find him? He's so…hmm," her friend's voice trailed off as Tetsuhiro walked up to the group. The wedding had been beautiful and gone off without a hitch. Once the reception had started, everyone noticed her date; most of the women and a few of the men were following his movements with appreciation. Tetsuhiro was playing the debonair predator to the hilt, oozing sex appeal all over the place. Both Souichi and Isogai were sitting with arms crossed and glaring at the two of them as they mingled.

For once, Tomoe had realized what was going on. He recognized Morinaga from the bar and immediately knew something was up. He decided to keep his mouth shut when he saw the reactions of both his friend and brother. Isogai was obviously jealous and Tomoe knew where his sister's heart lay, so he was willing to give her a chance to play her hand, whatever it was. Souichi was also acting weird. Tomoe would have said he was just as jealous as Isogai, but that couldn't be it. The younger man decided he was just embarrassed by their sisters' actions.

"Hello ladies, do you mind if I claim Kanako for this dance," Tetsuhiro smiled as he glided up to the circle of girls surrounding his date and hooked an arm around her waist. She looked relieved at the interruption and willingly moved to join him.

"Thanks, I needed a break from them," she smiled as they moved onto the dance floor.

"It's time to crank this up a notch, don't you think?" he whispered as she moved into his arms. "The dance floor's crowded; the music's hot, so let's give 'em a show they won't easily forget." Kanako looked startled, then grinned, and nodded.

"I'll do my best," was all she said.

Tetsuhiro glanced at where Isogai was sitting and gave him a slow smile and a nod as he let his hands travel from Kanako's back down to her hips. When he pulled her in close, she tensed and he whispered, "Relax, just enjoy the music and dance, he's watching and not at all liking what he's seeing." When she giggled nervously, he grinned, "If he sees you giggling he'll know something's up."

"You're right," then she relaxed into the mood and started enjoying herself. She reached up to kiss him (there was no tongue action but it looked good at a distance), and he moved to nuzzle her neck and ear, then turned her so they were back to front and wrapped his arms around her; she closed her eyes, as they were swaying to the music, and he let his hands wander as his mouth caressed her neck and he kept an eye on Isogai. The man was seething! If he'd been in a comic, steam would have been pouring out of his ears.

"What does she think she's doing?" Isogai ranted as he sat next to Souichi, "Why does that bastard keep looking over here? Is he challenging me? Does he know? Is he rubbing my nose in…?" that's as far as he got before he jumped up and headed for the couple on the dance floor. He didn't notice the sound of breaking glass from beside him as he headed out to stake his claim.

Souichi hadn't liked the scene any better than Isogai, but for different reasons. 'He's just making a fool of himself! Stop kissing her, you bastard; aren't you  **supposed**  to be gay!? Act like it for crying out loud!' He didn't realize he'd broken his wine glass until the contents spread over the tablecloth and Wakana gasped over a cut on his hand. "Damn it! How did that happen?" he said to the table in general.

"Well, it's no wonder it broke, the way you were strangling it! Here let me see," Wakana was both irritated and worried but Souichi wouldn't let her fuss over him.

He waved her away, "It's not bad, don't worry so much. See? It's already stopped bleeding! Oh shit, Isogai hit him! What an idiot!" Souichi jumped up and headed for the group on the dance floor. He was so involved in what was going on, he never even looked at his wife.

Things had settled down a bit by the time Souichi made it over to his sister. "Keep away from her," Isogai growled; then he turned to Kanako, "We need to talk!" and he grabbed her hand and headed for the lobby. As they were leaving, she turned and blew a kiss to Morinaga then gave him the thumbs up sign.

"Oi, Morinaga, are you ok?" Souichi turned to his assistant in time to see him double over. He was laughing so hard he could barely stand. Souichi helped him out to the lobby to minimize the show for the rest of the guests and waited until Tetsuhiro got himself back under control.

"Ahh, Sensei that was great! Did you see his face?" he sighed. "I hope it works out for them."

"Forget about them! You need ice; just…stay put, don't move!" He stormed off to get an ice pack for his idiot assistant, 'What a fool! He needs to worry about himself more than others; he deserved to get punched!' When he came back, Tetsuhiro was sitting on a sofa with his head resting on the back and his eyes closed.

'That's going to be a hell of a shiner! What's he going to tell the school? In another week he starts teaching too, jeez!' Souichi ranted to himself. "Here's the ice," he tossed it to the man on the couch. "I thought you said you could dodge him?"

"I could have, but Kanako was in the way and I didn't want her getting hit by accident," was the muffled answer.

"You really are something else, you know?" Souichi didn't know whether he should be relieved or pissed at the younger man. He was glad the injury wasn't any worse. He knelt on the couch beside the idiot, "Let me look at your eye," he leaned over while Morinaga lowered the pack for him to see. 'Even black and blue his eyes are…' "Beautiful." He realized he'd said the last word out loud when Tetsuhiro turned pink.

"Huh?"

"I said, it's gonna be a beautiful shiner, now put the ice back on and leave it there!"

Tetsuhiro leaned back on the sofa and sighed, "Alright, Sensei." He looked disappointed but resigned to it. "Get back to the party; I'll be in in a minute."

Souichi nodded and headed back to the reception. As he approached the entrance he saw Wakana standing there. She looked like she'd been there a while and she had all their belongings in her hands, "Sou-kun, I've had enough; let's go back to the house….We need to talk."

 


	6. Chapter 5

By the time Souichi and Wakana got home, the tension was thick enough to cut. She asked him to wait in the living room while she got a few things together. It didn't take her long to return with her suitcases.

"You have to go back to Tokyo?" Souichi asked when he saw the bags.

"I think I need to…" she started but then looked like she didn't know what to say. Suddenly she made up her mind and looked her husband in the eye; "I won't be coming back…" she began.

"Huh? Why?" he was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Souichi, are you happy with me? Can you really say, I'm your dream partner?" he still looked bewildered so she continued, "I don't think I am, and I realized a while ago that you're not mine either."

"Is there someone else?" he looked like he was trying to grasp what she was saying, but not having much luck with it.

She shook her head, "Not really. But I think there's someone in your life. Someone you can't wait to see; a person you don't want to part with."

"I've never betrayed our vows!" he retorted angrily. "I've never done anything with anyone else!"

"I know you haven't, you wouldn't…but I've been watching you…and you're so incredibly easy to read! You aren't even trying to pretend he's not important to you. Your focus, in fact your world, is centered on him; as far as you're concerned I don't exist anymore! How can I compete with that?"

"That's crazy! And who is  **he** , for crying out loud!?" he knew who she was referring to, but wouldn't admit it, even to himself. "What exactly are you accusing me of?"

"Day by day I'm watching my husband drift further away from me and as I watched the two of you today, it dawned on me that I'm not particularly interested in fighting to keep you. I just don't care enough anymore. Maybe I never did," she finished with a sigh.

Suddenly it was as if his brain completely shut down; he couldn't even put two words together, he couldn't think clearly. He could only listen as his secure world fell apart around his ears.

She continued, "Please understand…I've loved you for years, you were my best friend! I think we should have stayed friends; becoming lovers, getting married was a mistake…wasn't it?" She knew she was hurting him but couldn't help it; she'd made up her mind. Even if it hurt, she had to make this break, for both their sakes. When she looked up at him he saw tears in her eyes.

After she picked up the suitcases and turned to leave, he came to his senses and grabbed her to him, "Don't do this! We can….work…on this. What do I have to do?"

She turned in his arms to face him, "You can stop seeing Morinaga-kun! Break off all contact and never see him again. No more including him in family issues, going to dinner, being alone with him…anywhere! Then we may be able to fix things," she knew it was hopeless but she said it anyway.

He froze when he heard her requirements. He couldn't even begin to imagine his life without Morinaga in it anymore. "I can't do that…don't ask me to. You're both important to me! Why should I have to lose either of you? I don't want you to leave!" He was beginning to get angry at her attitude.

She interrupted fiercely, "Why? Tell me why, Souichi! Is it because you love me and can't live without me? Or is it because I'm your security blanket and you're used to me? I'm your protection against yourself aren't I? It recently dawned on me that you only got serious about me when you found out your brother was involved with a man. I don't know why I didn't notice before; did it scare you? Make you question things you didn't want to think about!?"

Souichi looked at her for a moment. He couldn't believe this was happening. She was the one person he'd chosen to spend his life with and her accusations blindsided him. He didn't answer, but he let her go and she walked out to the waiting taxi.

* * *

When Tetsuhiro walked into Adamsite, he got quite a few curious looks from the regulars. His eye had blossomed into quite a lovely shade of purple. He looked like a boxer who'd gone one too many rounds in the ring. Hiroto was thrilled as he sat down at the bar.

"So, what hit ya? A truck?" he grinned at his friend.

"No, a jealous lover," he grimaced as he ordered his drink.

"Whose?" Hiroto was all agog for the details of the fight. When Tetsuhiro finished bringing him up to date, the bartender was practically lying on the bar, cackling. "Man, that's classic! Only you could get caught up in that kind of situation, Angel-kun!"

"Meaning I'm the only one dumb enough to, huh?" Tetsuhiro growled in disgust.

"If the shoe fits; the problem is you're too nice, it's going to get you into real trouble one of these days," Hiroto started chuckling again at the images conjured. "Do you think it worked?"

"Kanako seemed happy with the outcome," he sighed. "I hope someone around here gets a happy ending!" he grumbled.

"So, why are you bummed? You performed your good deed and it worked out pretty well, why aren't you happier?"

Tetsuhiro looked down at his glass and started turning it in circles on the bar, "Because I'm a moron! ….And the person I've fallen for…went home with his wife," he finished with a whisper.

Hiroto suddenly got serious and leaned over towards his friend, "What was that last part? I didn't quite hear you. Who  **could**  you be talking about? And are you a complete fucking idiot!?" the last part was said at full volume and a hush fell over the room as Tetsuhiro tried to shush his friend.

"Yes, I'm an idiot! I think that's been pretty well established! Now, quiet down already," the brunette made shushing gestures with his hands as Hiroto tried to settle down.

"What have you done? I told you not to cause trouble, didn't I?" he hissed.

"I haven't touched him!" Tetsuhiro was indignant. "I want to…but I haven't, I like his wife and he wouldn't…" his voice trailed off. "Well I don't  **think**  he would," he mumbled.

"Would…what? What are you mumbling about? Angel-kun?"

"I was going to say he wouldn't be interested, even if he was free…but now I'm not so sure? There've been some mixed signals lately," Tetsuhiro thumped his head on the bar.

"Are you sure it's not wishful thinking?" sighed Hiroto.

"No," was the soft response.

The redhead patted his friend's head and looked up as the door opened, "Looks like the party's getting bigger," was his observation before leaving to wait on some other customers.

As soon as Tetsuhiro heard the voices behind him, he turned to make sure, and yep, there was Tomoe and his lover. 'This day just keeps getting better,' he groaned.

When they realized who he was they waved him over to the table. "Wow, he really decked you, huh?" Kurokawa winced in sympathy, "That's gottta hurt."

Tetsuhiro grinned, "It could have been a lot worse. You're Isogai's friend, right?" The other man nodded, "What are her chances with him?"

Kurokawa shrugged and scratched his head, "He's always treated her like a little sister. But…I've wondered, you know? I've seen him get jealous of her boyfriends and since her twenty-first birthday, he hasn't been out with anyone, serious or not. It made me wonder," he repeated shaking his head.

"If he loves her, I hope it works out," Tomoe piped up. "He  **is**  a bit too old for her though." The other two men grinned at him. "What? I don't want to see either of them hurt!"

Tetsuhiro started laughing softly, "Seeing you two definitely put me in a better mood. It's fun to watch how your family interacts with each other." After a couple more drinks the three men went their separate ways on very good terms.

Once Tetsuhiro arrived home, he got ready for bed and took a good look at his eye. 'Man, it's a beauty!' He laughed softly at the complete absurdity of the day as he went to get an ice pack and a beer. By the time he was settled on the couch in his office he was remembering Souichi's concern and his gaze as he checked out the injury. 'He looked so worried…' he thought as he dozed off.

_Tetsuhiro arrived at the office. It was early morning and there was something he had to do but he couldn't remember what offhand. As he approached the office he shared with Tatsumi-sensei he saw the light under the door and he could hear soft cursing. He smiled, that man certainly had a mouth on him!_

_He quietly opened the door and watched the blonde as he worked. Tetsuhiro was filled with a sudden need to claim him. It was selfish and overpowering and Tetsuhiro refused to think of the consequences as he walked up behind his boss._

_Souichi felt someone coming and turned around to see who it was; that was when Morinaga grabbed the chair arms and pinned the blonde in place with his body. He leaned down and claimed his beloved's mouth. Souichi was stunned and started to struggle but the younger man wouldn't take no for an answer. Suddenly Tetsuhiro pulled Souichi out of the chair and into his arms and began deepening his kiss, thrusting his tongue into the stubborn mouth. Souichi was holding on for dear life as their tongues danced together and Tetsuhiro started stripping his now willing partner. He picked Souichi up and laid him on the desk. As Tetsuhiro kissed and stroked along that lean and supple body, Souichi started moaning softly. The younger man quickly managed to open his pants and free his member; he couldn't wait to take off anything else, he had to be inside this man as quickly as possible!_

_As he looked down at Souichi, he licked his own fingers as the blonde watched wide-eyed. When he inserted the first one, the other man groaned and arched into his touch. Tetsuhiro lost what little was left of his sanity as he made fast work of readying his lover and thrust until he was buried inside that tight ass, with Souichi screaming for more. It felt so great he knew he wouldn't last long…._

Tetsuhiro woke up as he came, 'Damn, not again!' He groaned and lay on the sofa until his heartbeat slowed back down to normal and then went to his bedroom to change clothes again and go to bed. It had been way too long since he'd had sex and his fantasies were utterly out of control!

* * *

Sunday arrived too soon for Tetsuhiro. The ringing phone woke him up; then a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. 'Security isn't supposed to let anyone up without checking first!' By the time he actually made it to the door, all was quiet but he opened it anyway. 'Maybe it was a delivery?' he wondered. No one was there, but an envelope was on the floor. He picked it up and went to make himself some coffee. He sat down to read it as the coffee perked:

**Morinaga-san,**

**I haven't known you very long, but I believe you're the best person to contact now. Last night I told Souichi I was leaving him-**

He didn't get any further; he forgot about the coffee, everything. His only thought, 'Fuck, no!' pounded in his head as he ran for the car.

By the time he arrived at Souichi's home he was in a state of acute panic. His imagination was completely running wild. As he got out, he looked around and it seemed fine; the neighborhood was peaceful. Everything was quiet; in Tetsuhiro's agitated mental state it felt too quiet. He went to the front door and rang the bell, and then he knocked. He was about to start pounding when it slowly swung open.

"Dear God…! Not again.…" The sight that greeted him was out of a horror movie. The place was torn up; as he walked into the living room glass crunched under his feet. The sofa was turned over, shelves had been emptied and their contents thrown everywhere and smashed. He'd never seen so much damage. As he looked through the first floor he didn't find Souichi. He kept having flashbacks to another time, another home and another nightmare. Back then, the damage hadn't been so wide-spread, but there had been blood…so much blood! Tetsuhiro was very grateful he didn't see any here even though he kept searching for traces. He was terrified at what he'd find but he had to keep looking. His only thought 'Please be alive!' kept repeating over and over in his mind. He went upstairs and what looked like their bedroom was equally messed up, even the bed had been cut open with a knife. He finally found Souichi sitting in what looked like his office. He was still dressed in the same outfit he'd worn to the wedding. He was disheveled, his hair was down and tangled, but he seemed to be breathing. Tetsuhiro couldn't see any obvious wounds.

He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the still man. He found both the knife and hammer Souichi had used lying on the floor beside him and kicked them out of reach. He then felt for a pulse while he examined Souichi's wrists and sighed in relief as he briefly laid his head into the other man's hands. "Thank God you didn't go  **that**  far!"

"Sens—Souichi can you hear me?" he asked gently as he shook his shoulder. The blonde blinked but otherwise didn't respond. "Souichi," he brushed the snarled mass of hair from the older man's face, his voice sounding rough and strange to his own ears. "P-please Souichi, please talk to me," the man in front of him was staring inward at something unpleasant. All Tetsuhiro could do was beg, "I need you to come back to me…please! Souichi!" he finally screamed—nothing.

'What do I do?' He racked his brain for an answer as he ran his hands through his hair, and then he remembered a doctor friend once telling him how to stop a hysterical fit. He wasn't sure if this counted, but he had nothing to lose. "If you don't come back to me  **right now** , I'm going to do something you'll hate!" he warned. Nothing, 'Ok…' he shrugged and pulled Souichi into his lap and began kissing him. Tetsuhiro had wanted to do this for a while but not under these conditions. He was trying so hard to shock the blonde back to his senses that he couldn't enjoy it. One second he thought it wasn't working and then the next he had a wildly flailing Sensei in his arms.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Get off!" screeched the blonde as he tried to push Tetsuhiro away. He only ended up falling onto the floor. He landed on his butt with a soft thump. Tetsuhiro pushed back the chair to give him some room and leaned his arms on his knees as he gazed in relief at his infuriated boss.

"Welcome back Sensei," was all he could manage to get past the lump in his throat.

"What do you mean, 'welcome back'? I haven't gone…" Souichi realized where he was then and jumped up to head to his bedroom. He stopped inside the door and stared. "Morinaga… umm …is the rest of the house…like this?"

"Actually I think downstairs is worse."

"What day is it?"

"It's Sunday."

"The wedding was yesterday?"

"Yeah. What happened? Where's Wakana?" he wanted to hear Souichi's account.

"Nothing happened!" When Souichi saw the look of utter disbelief on Morinaga's face, he blushed and averted his eyes from his assistant. He began remembering what Wakana had said about the younger man and was embarrassed. "She left me last night," he finally choked out.

Tetsuhiro wanted to reach out and comfort the man but he knew it wouldn't be appreciated. "Sensei, I think you should pack a bag for a few days," the younger man finally said with compassion.

Souichi frowned, "Why?"

Tetsuhiro looked around the room, "You can't stay here. I'm sure one of your siblings will put you up."

"I…I can't tell them yet, I need some time," he looked sick at the idea.

"Then you can stay with me," the younger man quietly offered.

Souichi blushed to the roots of his hair; Tetsuhiro wondered what was up, "Not on your life!" he snapped, flustered. "If you insist I leave, I'll stay at a hotel somewhere."

The younger man took a deep breath and counted to ten in an effort to stay calm while Souichi waded through the debris to the closet to pack. "Why? Won't that be too expensive? I don't believe it's a good idea. You shouldn't be alone. Until you're ready to let your family know, you **can** stay with me," he reiterated. He didn't get why his boss was so adamant about not staying at his place, "You can do whatever you want…I won't bug you. Just take the time you need to figure things out."

Souichi tossed the suitcase to the younger man as he countered, "What's up with you? You're not my mother!" He stalked back to Tetsuhiro, irate, "What gives you the right to order me around!?"

Tetsuhiro's thin control snapped and he grabbed Souichi and cupped a hand behind his head to force him to pay attention, "I wasn't ordering you around! But if you want me too, fine; today I think I've earned it. Stepping into this disaster area without knowing if you were dead or alive; finding someone I respect, like, and yes, care about practically catatonic; THAT gives me the goddamn right!"

When his voice cracked on the catatonic comment, Souichi deflated. He knew he'd frightened Morinaga, the man was still shaking. So when the brunette continued, "Now get your ass downstairs and let's go!" Souichi decided to follow.

 


	7. Chapter 6

Once the two men arrived at the apartment, Souichi locked himself in the bathroom; Tetsuhiro left him to it and went to fix lunch. After he threw out the ruined coffee (he was glad he'd bought a unit with an automatic shut-off) he fixed some more, got lunch started, and finally sat down to finish reading that…woman's letter. He was still too angry to want to call her anything else.

**Morinaga-san,**

**I haven't known you very long, but I believe you're the best person to contact now. Last night I told Souichi I was leaving him. It's been a long time coming but I can't let the two of us continue like this any longer.**

**Souichi and I started out as friends and our relationship evolved out of that; however, I believe we made a mistake and mistook our fondness for each other as friends for love. Recently I've noticed a change in him; there's someone in his life now that matters more to him than his work or me. He needs this person and is spending more and more time with them. He hasn't said or done anything, and I don't even think he's aware of his actions or how transparent they are. I can no longer stand around and just watch this! I obviously could never give him what he wanted or needed, and I can't continue to be his crutch; he has issues he needs to face, and frankly I deserve better than this, too!**

**Morinaga-san, please continue to stay by his side and be a friend to him. I hope someday he'll come to realize how much you mean to him.**

**Wakana**

"Shit! If you only knew what an uproar you caused!" he threw the letter away before Souichi could see it. By the time the blonde ambled into the living room, lunch was almost ready and Tetsuhiro was setting the table.

"It's good to see you didn't fall asleep in the tub, Sensei! Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah, a bit, but I'm hungry," he sighed a little ruefully.

"That's a good sign," the younger man responded. "Sit down, it's just about ready."

"Can I help?"

"Sure, come on."

After the two men had helped themselves and sat down, Souichi was eating a bit absently as he stared at his assistant. Tetsuhiro finally noticed.… "Is something the matter?"

'Erm, I was trying to come up with a way to ask you about something you said earlier; about fearing I'd killed myself. Why did you jump to that conclusion?"

"Oh…well that's a bit of my own personal history," Tetsuhiro answered, embarrassed.

Souichi raised an eyebrow and waited for the rest. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" when Souichi nodded and leaned forward to listen, Tetsuhiro sighed and began, "The first person I fell in love with was my brother's best friend. I knew him for most of my life and I confessed to him when I was fifteen. We were together for about a year. Rumors were flying around about us but no one had any proof. Then one day my brother caught us together.

"It was ugly, I was prepared for it; I knew what my family was like. But Masaki wasn't. Kunihiro's rejection devastated him. That was when he told me the truth…that he'd used me as a substitute for my brother. A few days later…he slit his wrists."

"Did he die!?" Souichi was horrified.

"No, he was found in time," Tetsuhiro smiled. "However when I saw your place…I couldn't help but think 'Not again!'" tears began to fall, unnoticed. "As I went through it, I was looking for signs of blood, thank God there weren't any. With Masaki there was so much blood, it was everywhere…" he trailed off deep in his own thoughts. "Anyway, I was beyond relieved when I found you!" he smiled, coming back to the present.

"Well," Souichi said huffily, "I'd never do anything that stupid!"

"And you've no idea how grateful I am!" Tetsuhiro returned as he got up to clear the table.

* * *

Souichi stayed at Tetsuhiro's place for about a week before he was ready to let his family know what happened. The younger man was treating him like he was made out of spun glass; he was so gentle, it drove the blonde crazy. By the end of the week he was dying to tell his brother and sister all about it! Kanako and Tomoe were both surprised and upset over the mess but neither could say they hadn't seen it coming. It was decided that Souichi would stay at Kanako's until everything was settled.

When Souichi and Kanako went back to the house to take inventory and clean up he couldn't believe he'd done so much damage. From the moment Wakana left in the taxi until Morinaga started kissing him was a blank; he couldn't remember. There wasn't much left after all the broken items were thrown away; the pots and pans in the kitchen, his books and computer, and most of the bigger pieces of furniture were all that survived his rampage.

"Nii-san, what were you thinking? Waka-chan is not going to be happy about this!"

"So what? Like I care! She left me so who gives a shit if she's happy! I only want my books and computer, she can have the rest," he went back into his office and slammed the door. 'Obviously I wasn't thinking at all!' he rubbed his head as he rehashed that night…again. "Security blanket?" he muttered to himself. "What did she mean? I don't get it!"

* * *

Time passed quickly for both men. Tetsuhiro settled in to being a full-time teacher, and Souichi couldn't help but feel a little relieved he didn't have to worry about coming home late anymore; not getting yelled at was nice.

One weekend, about a month after Tetsuhiro started teaching full-time, he had to be in Tokyo on business. As he was trying to decide where to have lunch, he saw a familiar figure approaching. Wakana smiled a bit tentatively when she noticed the younger man. Tetsuhiro stared for a moment and then turned to enter the restaurant he'd been contemplating. He hoped she would get the point and not follow him. He didn't want to be forced to speak to her.

As he was being seated she walked up and sat down at his table. She looked upset at his behavior but was still determined to talk to him. He wasn't happy with hers either, he didn't want to cause a scene; however he also didn't want to have a heart-to-heart with the woman. She had hurt someone he loved too much for him to forgive her right away.

"What do you want?" he asked in a low, angry tone.

She drew back from him and frowned, "I'm sorry Morinaga-kun, but I'm confused. Why are you so angry? I thought you'd at least be happy I was out of the picture."

"You're right! I'm thrilled you're gone," he said fiercely. "It's the way you did it that I can't forgive! Did you really think he wouldn't  **feel**  anything? That it wouldn't affect him!? Have you  **any**  idea what it did to him?"

She looked at him blankly, shocked by his anger.

"There is one thing you did that I'm grateful for. Thank you for leaving that note. If you hadn't, I don't know what condition he would have been in by the time he was found," he paused to catch his breath and control the wobble that had worked its way into his voice.

"What do you mean?" she'd noticed and was torn between anger and concern.

"When I got to the house," he was talking very fast now, "it was a disaster area. It looked like the aftermath of an earthquake. Furniture smashed; glass everywhere. I couldn't find him right away and in every room I entered I was afraid…afraid of what I'd find. By the time I located him I was completely freaked and so glad he was still breathing! He was alive and I was grateful!" Tears were flowing by now in anger and remembered fear. Wakana was dumbfounded. She had honestly never thought Souichi would react like that.

Tetsuhiro pulled himself together and took a steadying breath, "I thought better of you than that!" He got up, "I'm sorry but I've lost my appetite. Don't worry; I'll take care of the check. Do everyone a favor will you? Stay away from him!"

After he left, Wakana sat back and thought. She absolutely could not believe her husband had reacted to her leaving like that. "I'm sorry Morinaga-kun, but I need to see him again," she said softly to herself.

It was easier said than done, Souichi was actively avoiding her, so it took almost another month before she was able to corner him into a talk. She was lurking in the university cafeteria one day when the two men came in, arguing. Souichi saw her first and tried to steer the younger man away, but Tetsuhiro caught sight of her and made a bee-line to her table.

Before he could say anything, she held up her hand, "I know, I know; but I need to speak to him." She looked at Souichi, "We'll need to talk sooner or later, right? It won't take long."

The brunette looked like he wanted to argue but he held his peace and went to sit at a nearby table where he could keep an eye on them.

"Is he your bodyguard now?" she asked in amusement as Souichi sat down.

He scowled, "No, he's worried that's all." He sighed, "I gave him reason to worry; he'll calm down…eventually."

"I ran into him in Tokyo and he told me you broke down when I left. I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't been him telling me. He essentially said you were so devastated by my leaving, you had a breakdown. What really happened?"

Souichi stared at her flatly; he was embarrassed and didn't want to explain himself to her but he knew she would keep bugging him until he answered. "It wasn't your leaving that caused it, but what you said," he finally replied. "I realized there was some truth there and it…shocked me. I mean, if we weren't meant for each other; what have we been doing for the past six years!? I guess it was all… too much…and I overloaded. I don't remember what happened after you left. The next thing I knew it was morning and…Morinaga …was there," he finished, blushing.

"So you're willing to let him believe you loved me so much that my leaving sent you over the edge!?" she snapped back at him, pissed off.

Souichi looked her straight in the eye and answered, "Yes."

She was flabbergasted, "I never thought you were such a coward!"

"Get used to it! If I told him the truth, he'd get the wrong idea and it would make our working together impossible. Anyway it  **is**  your fault! If you hadn't made me face those facts, I never would've flaked out!" he was blushing and on the defensive; she couldn't believe it!

As she stared at him, speechless, he continued, "Our marriage's failure was both our faults, I know. Neither of us tried hard enough to keep it going and even if he'd never entered our lives I know now that it would have ended…sooner or later." He reached across the table for her hand, "However, I did love you…more than I'd ever loved anyone before. I wanted us to share our lives together and that never changed. Not until that night when you went too far and said too much. That was when I knew we were done…and that was why I let you go." He looked at her and his expression was so sad, she couldn't keep eye contact.

"Souichi, I'm so sorry…."

He cleared his throat, "Look Wakana, you don't have to worry about me; I'm alright now. Just let the lawyers do their thing."

She smiled sadly at his tone, "Do you think we could ever go back to being friends?"

"Maybe we can one day…but not right now."

 


	8. Chapter 7

As the days passed Souichi fell into his old routine of spending almost all his spare time at school; Kanako needed her privacy and her brother really enjoyed his work. He was a genuine teacher; who was motivated by his students. When they caught on to what he was trying to teach them and got excited, so did he. It felt good to see the light flash on in their eyes as they understood.

Souichi was also very determined to continue with his life as he had up until now. There was no room for complications and facing his feelings for his assistant was a huge complication he refused to deal with. He gave whole new meaning to the term denial. Ok, so his marriage hadn't worked out. There were many divorcees out there; he was just part of a huge crowd! It didn't  **mean**  anything…weird, like he was…gay…no way, no how could that be true!

However, he also enjoyed spending time with Morinaga. The younger man was a great foil for him; they could spark ideas off each other and they each inspired the other to think in different directions. When they were around each other, thinking outside the box was the norm.

So the two men continued to work, and hang out together. Tetsuhiro was resolved to be patient since he still thought that Souichi had freaked due to his wife leaving him and he had no clue about the real reason for the older man's meltdown. He wanted to (for lack of a better term) woo Souichi and convince him they could have a fantastic life together. So he found ways for the two of them to be alone. Even though it was a kind of slow torture, he wouldn't stay away from the blonde.

The main problem with Tetsuhiro's strategy was Souichi himself. Whenever anything started to move into a more personal direction he would tense up and shut down. The younger man felt as if he were on an incredibly violent roller coaster, up one minute and then slammed into the ground the next. He didn't realize that the blonde was finding it harder and harder to keep his distance and he was fighting himself as much as he was Tetsuhiro. Souichi was beginning to look forward to being with his assistant and even if he wouldn't admit it, he desired to be near the younger man; he wanted to breathe his air…it was becoming close to an obsession and yet Souichi wouldn't admit it, not even to himself.

There's no telling how long the standoff would have lasted but suddenly, about halfway through the semester, everything changed. The day began normally enough; morning classes wrapped up quickly and the two men headed to the cafeteria for lunch. While Souichi was getting his plate, a student pulled Morinaga aside. The boy was…cute. His head only came up to his assistant's shoulder, he was dark haired and very excited as they talked. Souichi couldn't help but notice that they looked good together…they seemed to fit for some reason.

The blonde kept an eye on them and as he watched the kid began to chuckle at something Morinaga had said. He reached out to hug the idiot and his assistant actually smiled as they separated; then the kid said something to him and he laughed!

Souichi suddenly had the strongest urge to slam his tray into the boy's face and pummel his assistant for making an ass out of himself. He'd actually begun to head in their direction when reason reared its head and he came back to his senses.

'What the hell am I doing!?' he thought furiously to himself. 'What do I care if that moron wants to make goo-goo eyes at some kid? It's none of my business…right?' He felt miserable; he didn't want to watch Morinaga flirting with someone else. When he realized where his thoughts were headed and what they meant he paled and felt light-headed. This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. This was jealousy and it was beneath him…why should  **he**  be jealous of Morinaga?

'Because you want to be the only one he looks at, don't you?' the thought completely blindsided him. He found a table and abruptly sat down while he sorted through the tangle of thoughts that were attacking his mind. As much as he tried to deny  **everything** , he couldn't. He found his assistant attractive and he…. He cut off that thought immediately. He still wasn't ready to admit what he wanted. 'No! I don't; no, no, no!'

"Hey Sensei, there you are!" Morinaga startled Souichi as he walked up to the table. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

"If you hadn't decided to spend our entire lunch break talking to that kid we wouldn't be running late now, would we?" was the snarky answer.

Tetsuhiro looked at his boss with raised eyebrows as he considered the older man's statement. For some reason he sounded…miffed; almost…jealous?

'No way!' Tetsuhiro refused to get excited, but as he ate his lunch he covertly watched the blonde.

Souichi was pissed at himself. He couldn't keep his mouth shut and now Morinaga was looking at him in a weird way, 'Crap! What's wrong with me?'

"So who was he?" slipped out as he tried to act disinterested while he concentrated on finishing his lunch.

"Hmm? Oh, he's one of my student's," was the answer. "I'm sorry Sensei; I should have introduced you to him." Tetsuhiro was now openly watching the older man.

Souichi continued to look at his plate and asked, "So is that boy your type?" When he realized what he'd just said, he looked up at the younger man suddenly and then quickly away, blushing furiously. He just  **could not** keep his mouth shut!

Tetsuhiro was taking it all in and trying not to look like the cat that snagged all the cream. "Not really; I'm not in to kids. Give me a man any time," he looked at his boss with a slight, rather sexy, smile. "Experience and wisdom are incredibly attractive…don't you think?"

If anything, Souichi blushed even more, "Well, it's not like its important or anything! I was just wondering." He looked at his watch, "It's time we got back to work, let's go."

* * *

"Sensei, are you done?" Morinaga asked as he poked his head into the lab later that day. "I need a break and there's this new restaurant I wanted to try out. Would you like to join me?"

Souichi flinched slightly. He was still a little self-conscious about his earlier behavior. He couldn't understand why he'd had the compulsion to poke the tiger like that. Morinaga wasn't acting any differently, thank God! He considered the invitation for a moment before accepting, "Sure. I'm getting hungry and could use a break, too."

The restaurant was pretty close to the university and the food turned out to be excellent. Tetsuhiro knew Souichi was embarrassed and worked hard to get him to forget about earlier. His strategy worked and the blonde gradually relaxed. The two men enjoyed their meal and the time they spent together. After dinner they decided to walk home. Since Souichi's place was on the way to Morinaga's, they strolled there together, talking all the while.

The feel of the whole evening changed as they walked under the stars; Souichi had the oddest sense that he was being escorted home after a date! He glanced at his assistant but nothing seemed any different with him; he had his hands in his pockets and was currently looking up at the sky. Souichi couldn't shake a sense of foreboding and he began to worry about what would happen once they reached his place. He also felt a tingling of anticipation; which scared him more than anything else. By the time they reached his sister's apartment he was jumping at every sound and movement his assistant made.

"Sensei," began Tetsuhiro as they neared the apartment complex.

"What!?" Souichi interrupted before the younger man could get anything else out.

Tetsuhiro looked at his boss quizzically, "We're here." He noticed Souichi's nervousness for the first time and had no idea what was wrong.

"Ah, yeah…so we are," Souichi was glad the darkness hid his complexion; he had a feeling he was flushed from his own thoughts and didn't want the younger man to notice.

"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow," Tetsuhiro waved as he began to walk off.

"Umm, good night..." Souichi answered as he got angry that the big idiot  **hadn't**  noticed! He quickly turned to go up to the apartment and slammed the door as he stalked through the living room.

"Hi, Nii-san," Kanako called as he stormed through.

"I'm going to bed! Don't bother me!" he bit out as he slammed the door to his bedroom.

"What was that about?" asked Tomoe, who had come over for a visit. "He didn't even notice me here!"

"He had another fight with Morinaga-san I suppose," Kanako sighed. "It seems that man is the only one who can rile Nii-san up like that."

* * *

As Souichi got ready for bed he kept telling himself over and over, that it was the younger man's fault; even if he knew that it was a load of crap and Morinaga had nothing to do with it. The fact that his assistant hadn't tried anything had thrown him for a loop.

'Why?' he asked himself as he looked at himself in the mirror. 'Am I unattractive or just not his type? He's gay and a player for crying out loud, why didn't he make a play for **me**?' That brought him up short, 'Why do I give a shit!? I'm straight and I would have hit him if he tried anything. He knows that so of course he wouldn't. Get a grip Souichi; you can't have it both ways! And I don't want it in any way!' Nevertheless a little voice still reminded him, 'But he didn't even look like he  **wanted**  to try.'

'So does that mean I actually wanted him to make a play?' he sat down abruptly and grabbed his pillow. "No, I can't want that," he began muttering. "No…I can't…I absolutely can't."

* * *

Once Souichi finally became aware, it immediately started to get harder for him to deal with Morinaga. The man wasn't at fault; he continued to treat his boss as he always had. The problem was with Souichi and his reactions to him. When they worked together he had an almost compulsive need to touch the younger man, to get in his space. He looked forward to seeing Tetsuhiro; he kept making excuses just to be in the same room with him. He didn't understand why this was happening, but he couldn't stop himself. This was alien territory and it made him incredibly cranky.

He couldn't even get away from the idiot in his sleep. He kept having the weirdest dreams and they all starred Morinaga! And the worst of it was  **how**  his dreams featured the younger man. He was always the one in charge!

Souichi was in their office one morning rehashing the previous night's show, 'What is wrong with me!? If I'm going to have perverted dreams, why can't they be normal ones? Why is he always in charge? I'm older; it should be me, right? Right!' He paused, 'What the hell am I thinking?' He unconsciously began running his fingers through his hair, pulling it down, 'Like I'd even know where to begin!'

Tetsuhiro chose that moment to walk into the room and immediately got a well-rounded death glare, 'What did I do? He's been so pissed lately, what's with him?'

"Good morning, Sensei," was all he said as he sat down.

"Yeah, morning," growled Souichi as he turned his back on him to look outside. He didn't see the confused look the younger man gave him as he settled down to work. 'I wonder if it would really feel  **that**  good. …Nah, there's no way it would…' he glanced at his assistant's reflection in the window and his body reacted, 'I can't even look at him now? Jeez…' he looked down, 'Cut it out!' He stood up and headed for the door.

"Morinaga, I'm heading over to the lab for a while, I'll see-" Tetsuhiro quickly intercepted him and shut the door with a snap. "Wha-?"

"Not yet, Sensei; I want to know what's wrong. Did I do something to offend you?" he wanted an answer right now! He had his hand pressed against the door; the blonde wasn't going anywhere until he had some answers. The signals Tetsuhiro had been receiving were so mixed he couldn't even begin to figure them out. One minute the older man was reaching out to him and then the next he'd stiffen and jerk away as if he'd been stung. It was driving the younger man nuts; he didn't know what was acceptable or how to treat his boss anymore. He didn't want Souichi to fear him or hate him and lately that was the impression he'd been getting.

"No, of course you didn't, now let me out!" Souichi looked at the younger man and nervously moistened his lips. All he could think was, 'Oh, shit!'

That was the last straw; "Damn it!" Tetsuhiro's resolve snapped and he leaned in to kiss the blonde. In seconds Souichi was in his assistant's arms receiving the most comprehensive kiss of his life. When the younger man's hands began to roam, Souichi snapped out of his trance and pushed him back, "NO!" He left his hands resting flat on Tetsuhiro's chest while he looked down and tried to catch his breath.

"No, Sensei?" Tetsuhiro asked. He grabbed Souichi's hands and held them against the door as he leaned in to trap the blonde again. He slid a leg in between the other man's and effectively boxed him in. "I have to know, do you hate me or…do you want me as much as I do you?" he watched the blonde shiver and smiled a bit grimly.

Souichi tried to push the younger man away, "Yes... No, it's…well not…exactly. Morinaga, please just forget about it! I'm having a few issues that will pass. Give me time to get over…this and things will go back to normal," he was looking around desperately for an escape. "Come on, let me go! I need some space," he snapped as he glared at his assistant.

"I don't think so, Sensei," Morinaga sighed. Souichi looked back at him crossly as he continued, "You see, I have a little problem.…" He moved to brush is lips against Souichi's cheek as the older man's eyes widened, "I've fallen in love with you. So when you tempt me the way you have lately," when Souichi shook his head violently in denial Tetsuhiro continued, "even if you didn't realize it, you  **have**  been encouraging me. When you do that, I can't help but get my hopes up." He paused to gather his thoughts and when Souichi thrashed again to get away, Tetsuhiro moved in even closer to whisper in his ear.

"As I see it Sensei, there are two ways this situation can be resolved. We can re-establish our professional relationship; which means no contact outside of work, separate offices, etc. Or…" his voice trailed off as he carefully looked the man standing in front of him up and down, practically undressing him with his eyes.

"…Or? What's the other one?" Souichi asked nervously as he pushed his back into the door; he really needed some room. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Or we become lovers," Tetsuhiro responded simply.

"Those are the only choices? That's crazy!" he was stunned. "Why can't things stay as they are?"

"Because I don't trust myself anymore; I want you all the time!" Tetsuhiro dropped his head onto Souichi's shoulder, "I thought I could handle my feelings but they're getting out of control and I'm afraid I'll do something stupid if we continue like this. You're irresistible to me, Sensei; like a drug I can't get enough of," he groaned as he rubbed his cheek against Souichi's. "If I don't put some distance between us, I'm afraid I'll hurt you…and destroy our friendship."

Souichi glared, "Don't exaggerate!"

Tetsuhiro pulled back and continued as if the blonde hadn't said a word, "It's your choice, colleagues or lovers."

"Huh?" Souichi was losing track of the conversation, he was getting turned on and trying to fight it. He did not want to admit how much the younger man affected him and he definitely didn't want Morinaga to notice his condition.

"It's  **your**  choice." Tetsuhiro patiently repeated. "I won't try to push you into a situation you're not ready for, but I hope you'll come over for…dinner…sometime soon."

Souichi glared at the big idiot through half-shut eyes, "Dinner, huh?"

Tetsuhiro smiled, "Yes, along with some after dinner…exercise. Please understand Sensei, I want you to be completely clear on what that means. If you can't willingly do it, don't come! But, if you do show up, I guarantee you won't leave until I've thoroughly loved you."

Souichi swallowed, hard, "Th-thoroughly!?"

"Yeah!" he leaned in again, "And you'd better be prepared to stay awhile. I have no intention of hurrying. And I won't let you go until we're both satisfied." When he heard Souichi's in-drawn breath he chuckled and then got serious again, "I want to hold you…to be inside you and feel you surround me, squeeze onto me and not let me go."

Souichi managed to stay standing and stubbornly croaked, "And if I can't  **do**  that!?"

"Then I move out of this office and we only see each other in class and the lab, period," Morinaga's voice contained a flat finality that convinced Souichi that the younger man was deadly serious.

Tetsuhiro gently moved the dumbfounded man to the side so he could open the door, "Dinner's usually at seven, I hope you'll come." He hurriedly left the office before he could do anything he'd really regret.

After the door closed, Souichi slowly slid to the floor, ' **Now**  what do I do?'

 


	9. Chapter 8

Souichi stormed off campus after his last class. He needed to think! He was angry at Morinaga and at himself. He couldn't understand what it was about the younger man that affected him so badly. After their encounter in the office, he could no longer deny that he wanted the big idiot, 'Lust sucks!' He didn't know what to do; he wasn't a homo, dammit! 'If I ever actually go over there, he'll plow my ass,' he shivered again and he really wanted to believe it was in disgust but then his cock twitched. "Oh shut up!" he yelled, scaring two birds out of a nearby tree.

He sat down on a bench, put his head in his hands and thought about his situation. 'Why? I'm  **not**  a homo! Never in my entire life have I ever been attracted to another man, so what is it about him!?' As he sat there he also had to admit he had never been this wound up over a woman either; not even Wakana. No one had ever driven him this crazy! When he was younger he'd had too much to do and worry about. He helped raise his siblings after their mother died and there had never been any time to chase after anyone. He'd either been too busy or too tired. And now? His life had mostly settled into a routine, 'So am I bored? …Not that bored! Is this a weird mid-life crisis? …I'm too young, dammit, it can't be that! Why the hell do I want to touch him so much? Is he a human aphrodisiac? Is it something he does or gives off that would affect me subconsciously? Did he hypnotize me…brainwash me!?'

He paused, "Ok, that's too paranoid, even for me!" and gave up trying to figure it out by himself. He needed to talk to someone, but whom? There wasn't anyone! After wandering around for a while Souichi wound up at Adamsite. Thankfully Hiroto was the only one there; it was still way too early for business to be brisk. Even though the bartender wasn't his choice for confidant, he thought the redhead might be able to clue him in on a few things. He and Morinaga  **were**  friends after all.

Souichi sat down at the bar and after the usual greetings were out of the way, he got to the point, "Hiroto, what is it about Morinaga that guys like?"

The bartender almost dropped the tray of glasses he was carrying, "Huh!? What do you mean?"

"Just what I asked…I want to know why any man would want him to...to…you know," as he looked furtively around the bar he leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper, "to take them?"

"Um, well he's very sexy and has the reputation of being really good in bed; not to mention he's rolling in dough. In our circles he's considered a great catch," Hiroto was trying to understand where this conversation was going.

Souichi was determined to fume, "How much of a player is he!?" He wanted an out in the worst possible way.

"Not as much of one as he used to be," was Hiroto's puzzled answered. "I haven't seen him with anyone in months."

"Really," Souichi asked doubtfully…"no one?"

"Not since before Wakana left," he frowned. "Why are you asking all these questions now?"

Souichi couldn't look the redhead in the eye as he answered, "No real reason. I know he's interested in someone and I'm worried about them both…ok?"

"Is this guy Angel-kun's interested in a friend of yours?" Hiroto wondered what Tetsuhiro had said to Tatsumi-sensei.

"I don't know…he's becoming someone I don't recognize," he muttered, scowling.

"Do you think he loves Angel-kun?"

"No way! I'm not sure he knows how to love anyone," Souichi sounded miserable. "The one thing he's certain of is that he's lusting after my idiot assistant. That's not fair to Morinaga! I mean he said he loves him for crying out loud! And this guy, well it's not the same! I really don't want him getting hurt! I don't want either of them to get hurt…." he ended muttering.

"Has this friend been honest with him about that?" Hiroto was starting to get the point.

Souichi drooped and muttered, "No. Morinaga asked him to…dinner." He closed his eyes, saw green ones and shuddered. Hiroto noticed his reactions and tried to hide his grin. "He's not a homo alright?" the blonde finally snapped. "How can he even want him?" he finished with a whisper.

"Try to think of it this way," Hiroto said seriously, "forget gender, and forget labels: straight, gay, or bi. Just think in terms of people. Angel-kun is a person, just a person; someone this guy's attracted to."

Souichi thought about that for a minute, "There's another problem. Morinaga left my friend in no doubt that he wanted to…what's the word? Top him? Erm…how painful is it?" he was  **really**  worried about this.

Hiroto stifled the urge to giggle uncontrollably and answered as tactfully as he could, "Well, um, a guy's first time to bottom is uncomfortable. It can't be helped, but it does get better the more it's done…well unless your lover is huge."

Souichi leaned forward again and interrupted, "That's it, just how big  **is**  he?"

Hiroto coughed to hide another giggle, "How should I know? I've never seen Angel-kun like that." Hiroto grinned again, "When your friend goes over he needs to be as honest as possible. If Angel-kun knows his worries, he'll respect them. This…ah, friend is gonna go, ain't he?"

Souichi couldn't meet the other man's eyes, "I don't know…"

* * *

Two weeks passed while Souichi waffled. Morinaga was as good as his word and moved out of their shared office the day after his proposition. He'd meant it when he said they wouldn't have any more "alone time." The blonde began to miss the moron's presence. He missed the closeness they'd shared, 'How did it get like this?' Whenever he was by himself, he'd remember the last time they'd been alone. He'd remember how the younger man had kissed him…had held him; it was driving him crazy!

One night when Souichi went to bed, he was restless…itchy. He tossed around for a while and then sat up in a huff. 'Shit! Why can't I sleep?' He flopped back onto the bed and threw an arm across his eyes. As he tried to relax, once again he began remembering the way Morinaga had kissed him and he let his fingers run across his lips. He sucked his thumb into his mouth and began using it to tease his tongue. When he realized what he was doing, he stopped and blushed crimson. 'I'm NOT doing this!' as he rolled onto his stomach to try to fall asleep. A few minutes later Souichi beat the pillow and flopped back onto his back and sighed. He had a problem and needed to fix it before he'd ever be able to sleep. 'That damn moron, it's all his fault!'

He sighed and finally let himself go in the direction his body obviously wanted to head in. Souichi closed his eyes and let his imagination lead him. Once again he gently ran his fingers across his lips and he imagined Morinaga's tongue pushing past his teeth into his mouth to play with his tongue. Souichi's thumb entered and mimicked the younger man's actions. While he fantasized, his other hand wandered to his groin and he began palming himself through the pajama fabric. "Mmph!" he grunted. He was hardening and beginning to ache from want. Souichi kept his eyes shut as both his hands began playing with his shaft and balls. He started panting as he picked up the pace, all the while imagining Morinaga doing it to him. He was massaging the area around his balls with one hand as he began stroking himself with the other. In his mind he could hear the younger man's warm, seductive voice whispering encouragement as he groaned and quickened his pace even more. He knew he was close when he felt the familiar tightening in his loins; he stepped up the tempo even more and came so powerfully, he had to bite down on his lower lip to keep from screaming.

Souichi relaxed back onto his bed as he let his heart rate settle back to normal. He was shocked by what he'd just done, "I'm turning into a complete pervert and it's all because of him!' he sat up, thinking. "Damn him…" Souichi laid his head on his drawn up knees and groaned. "Damn, damn, damn…."

* * *

Tetsuhiro had been mentally kicking himself ever since he left Sensei that day. When Souichi disappeared immediately after class he was convinced that was it, the older man would never agree to his terms. It had been almost a month now with no change. He wanted to keep his hopes up, but he was beginning to lose faith that his desires would ever come true.

One evening, Tetsuhiro decided he'd had enough of being alone with his thoughts, so he went to catch up with Hiroto. The redhead took one look at him and began mixing him his favorite drink. As he handed it over he said, "Hey! Long time no see, Angel-kun; how've you been?"

Tetsuhiro took a sip and sighed, "I've been better…I think I screwed up."

Hiroto raised an eyebrow as he looked at his friend, "How'd you manage that?"

"A little while ago…I gave Sensei an ultimatum," he looked embarrassed. "I told him that in order for our relationship to continue we needed to become lovers; and if that wasn't possible then we had to revert back to colleagues."

'So that was it!' Hiroto had wondered what his friend had come up with to rattle Tatsumi-sensei so much.

"So…? What happened?" he thought he knew but Hiroto wanted confirmation.

Tetsuhiro sighed, "I moved out of the office and we're only seeing each other when necessary. He hasn't taken me up on my dinner invitation. Honestly I didn't think he would, but…" his voice trailed off.

Hiroto thought hard for a moment. He wasn't one to repeat conversations he had with his customers behind their backs but he wanted to advise his friend to be patient for a little longer. "You know, Angel-kun, I bet he's just scared. This is a lot to process for a supposedly straight guy. If he really is attracted to you, he has to figure out a way to accept those feelings without letting them destroy who he is. Plus, he's got to be worried about what'll happen physically when you two do get together, you know."

Tetsuhiro looked at the bar as he considered Hiroto's words. He knew his friend was right but he'd never been a patient man. It had already been a month, how much longer should he give him? He finished his drink and paid his tab with a smile, "I know, but it's hard to be patient when I'm not even sure anything will happen."

"Angel-kun really, give it a little more time before you do anything stupid!" Hiroto said, exasperated. Tetsuhiro chuckled and nodded at Hiroto in agreement.

"I will, after all it's all I can do." He went home fluctuating between depression and hope. As he was relaxing in his office, he heard the doorbell ring. Souichi's was the only name he'd recently given to security to let up without an announcement. He tried not to get too excited as he went to answer it, but his heart was doing backflips in his chest.

Tetsuhiro thought he was seeing things when he spied Souichi standing there. The man looked thunderous, but he'd cleaned up and changed. The blonde had picked clothes that would be fun for the younger man to strip off, Tetsuhiro noticed. A dark blue, long sleeved, button up shirt, a bit dressier than what Sensei usually liked to wear and his jeans! They fit so snugly they showed the blonde's perky butt off to perfection. To the younger man's eyes, he looked heavenly.

Before he could even get one word out, Souichi held up a hand, "Don't do or say a thing until I've said what I have to; do not take one step…stay put!" When the brunette nodded and leaned against the doorframe to wait, Souichi took a deep breath and continued, "First, you said you loved me…I can't say I feel the same way. I don't know if I'll ever be able to." He looked at the younger man's face and then quickly away, "Even so…I can't get you out of my head. I can't concentrate or sleep, this is making me crazy! I'm not entirely comfortable with this… situation you put us both in, but I don't want to lose our connection. I've missed the time we spent together. To keep that is worth anything to me; even this…. Is that acceptable to you?" As he finished, Souichi forced himself to meet the other man's eyes again.

Tetsuhiro smiled gently; Sensei was so flustered and earnest he couldn't help himself, "I'm willing to take a chance on your feelings for me developing. Did you have anything else to say?"

"Err, well," he was blushing crimson as he nodded at the younger man's crotch. "Just  **how** …umm, big are you?" Tetsuhiro threw back his head and laughed, he hadn't expected that. "What's so funny!? I'm serious!" Souichi's assistant then leaned forward and carefully gave the blonde his measurements, "Oh …really? Well, that's…not so bad," Souichi was slightly relieved. "At least you're not a behemoth."

Tetsuhiro chuckled again, "Do you have anything else to ask, Sensei?" his emerald eyes had sparks dancing in them.

Souichi briefly met his eyes again and then looked away as his voice dropped to a whisper and he answered as he cleared his throat, "Yeah…what's for dinner?"

 


	10. Chapter 9

"We have a very nice piece of salmon on the menu tonight," Tetsuhiro playfully went into waiter mode as he showed Souichi into the apartment. "Would Sir like a little wine to accompany his dinner?"

"Oh, shut up," Souichi responded with a slight grin. He started to relax (which is what the younger man had intended) at his assistant's foolishness. "Wine would be good, though."

"Why don't you sit down while I bring the meal out?" Tetsuhiro chuckled, back to normal.

"Can I help?"

"No, tonight let me spoil you, okay?"

Souichi scowled, 'Spoil…how?' He was beginning to tense up again when Tetsuhiro brought out the wine.

"Thanks…are you trying to get me drunk?" he looked at the younger man suspiciously.

"Nah, that's no fun! I'm not about to give you an excuse to deny tonight later," Tetsuhiro's eyes had gone all serious, even though he was still smiling slightly.

"Ok…I don't want to get drunk anyway," Souichi decided to ignore the last part of the younger man's statement.

Souichi had to admit Morinaga could cook. While they ate he began to relax and enjoy himself. Dinner was delicious; the company was entertaining and he almost forgot about what would decidedly happen later. Reality came crashing back once Morinaga started to clear the table.

While the younger man was puttering around in the kitchen, Souichi started to nervously explore the apartment. He had to admit the man had taste…and style. The place was comfortable, friendly, and filled with light. 'Just like its owner,' he thought as two arms wrapped themselves around his waist. He jumped a little and heard a chuckle behind him.

"Sorry, Sensei, but I couldn't help myself," Tetsuhiro said playfully. "Do you like this piece?" he nodded at the painting Souichi had been staring at.

Souichi nodded, "I was just thinking how much it and the whole place feels like you." Some of his tension evaporated as he thought about it. "I like it here," he sighed as he looked over his shoulder at the man holding him.

Tetsuhiro quietly smiled and cupped one hand behind the blonde's head to kiss him. He met with very little resistance when his tongue demanded admittance. Souichi moaned and sank into that kiss.

'Damn, he's good!' was all Souichi could think as the younger man's tongue slid and licked along the roof of his mouth, across his teeth, and against his tongue. He turned into Morinaga's arms and wrapped his hands up and around the other man's shoulders as the kiss intensified and Tetsuhiro got a better hold of him. Souichi was actually grateful for the embrace when his legs lost their strength.

The younger man felt Souichi's body give way and firmed his hold on his soon-to-be lover as they both came up for air. "Sensei, are you really ready for this?" he ground out hoarsely.

Between pants he answered, "Yes…no… I don't know."

"You won't run, right?" Tetsuhiro seemed satisfied when Souichi nodded a bit reluctantly and he guided the older man into his bedroom and then to his bed. As he finished taking Souichi's hair down (it had come loose during that kiss) his playful attitude came back. "Sen—sei, what do you like?" at Souichi's blank look he clarified, "How can I please you?"

"I don't…know," was all the blonde could say. No one had ever asked him that before so he couldn't answer, 'Like I'd  **ever**  tell him that!'

"Well, I guess we'll figure it out as we go," Tetsuhiro replied as he quickly pulled Souichi back into his arms. He kept his eyes half-open in order to gauge how much the blonde was enjoying his attention. When Tetsuhiro moved to kiss the side of his neck he heard a small groan so he nuzzled into his neck and down to his collarbone and the blonde tilted his head to offer it to Tetsuhiro's ministrations. 'That's a nice response,' he grinned to himself. The younger man sucked lightly on his lover's collarbone and Souichi threw back his head with a louder moan. Tetsuhiro released his hold on Souichi as he laid him down on the bed. The blonde looked up at him with lust-clouded eyes and Tetsuhiro could barely contain himself as he started removing the older man's shirt.

"Ahh!" Souichi let out a loud groan and clamped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment when his assistant accidentally brushed his hand across one of his nipples.

"Hmm, so…you like that?" Tetsuhiro asked playfully as he started concentrating on the new area, 'Man, he's so sensitive; this'll be fun!' He leaned over and licked his tongue across the same nipple and it sprang up quite nicely.

"Ngh! No…ahh!" However Souichi twined his fingers into Morinaga's hair, not to push the younger man away, but to keep him right where he was.

"You're words and actions don't add up, Souichi!" Tetsuhiro laughed quietly as he bent over the blonde again and worked on driving him crazy. He rubbed, pinched, licked, sucked and lightly bit Souichi's nipples until he was arching into the younger man's touch, craving more. Only then did Tetsuhiro move down that lean torso, randomly kissing wherever he wanted, until he reached his jeans.

When Souichi felt Morinaga start removing his pants he gasped, "NO!"

Tetsuhiro quickly looked up Souichi's length and saw the first signs of real fear on the older man's face. He sat up and moved to lie alongside him. "What is it?" he whispered. "Are you scared?"

Souichi looked up at him, into his eyes and calmed down a bit, "Yeah…no…mmm," his voice trailed off as Tetsuhiro ran his hand down his side to his hip.

"Souichi…I'll be careful and I'll take it slowly. Try and relax, it'll feel really good, soon," Tetsuhiro reassured the man. "I'll make sure it's good for you, I promise." He maintained eye contact as he moved to finish removing Souichi's pants and briefs. The blonde made sure to carefully watch everything he did. With a grin, Tetsuhiro settled himself between Souichi's legs and teased his cock into his mouth; he ran his tongue along the length and across the tip, at which point his lover threw his head back and gave a rather sweet sigh of pleasure. Tetsuhiro was glad; he wanted to regain the mood of a few minutes ago. He knew Souichi was nervous about taking in a man and Tetsuhiro wanted it to be as enjoyable as possible for him.

Souichi  **was** enjoying himself; as long as he didn't think about it too much, he was in ecstasy. Morinaga knew what he was doing and it felt reallllly good! He was soaring when he felt the younger man reposition himself but it didn't matter, he felt a familiar coiling sensation and right as he came, Tetsuhiro slipped an oiled finger inside him, but he didn't notice. By the time Souichi came back to earth, it didn't seem to matter much especially when Morinaga was bringing him so much pleasure. "Wha—are you…ahh!... doing down there?"

He heard a soft chuckle as the younger man answered, "Pleasuring you, I'll explain later." Then Souichi felt him begin to stroke along his shaft and he didn't have any more interest in asking questions.

As Tetsuhiro played with his lover's body, he inserted a second finger. Once he found it, he began to regularly rub against the blonde's prostate. He was trying to time himself so he could relax Souichi as much as possible before the blonde had to 'swallow' something quite a bit longer and thicker than his fingers. So far it looked like it was working. By the time he'd worked a third finger into his lover, Souichi was past caring and close to coming again. While he came down the second time, the younger man stripped and stretched out alongside his lover. He gently smoothed the hair off Souichi's face and waited for him to open his eyes. When he had the older man's attention, he leaned over to kiss him, another passionate probing kiss and as he pulled away, Souichi reached up and pulled him back down for another one. When Tetsuhiro pulled away for a second time, he was grinning at the other man, "So far, so good?" The only answer he got was a quick nod. Before Souichi could even begin to put a sentence together, Tetsuhiro was kneeling between his legs, spreading them wide enough to fit in comfortably. Souichi's eyes widened when he realized what was next but the younger man breached him before he could react. Tetsuhiro made his first thrust and stopped as Souichi clamped down and gasped.

"Oh, fuck…" the older man panted.

"Ok, Sensei, breathe slowly. That's it, you're doing great!" When he felt his lover start to relax his body, he pushed in further and kept going with light thrusts and encouragement until he was completely seated inside him. Souichi was panting and uncomfortable but it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd imagined. He just felt so full, it was weird.

It took all of his control but Tetsuhiro held still until he felt Souichi give a slight push up with his hips. That was the signal he'd been waiting for. As he began to move, Souichi's cries of pain turned into pleasure very quickly. Tetsuhiro was glad for that because he'd reached the point of no return a while back and there was no way he could've stopped. Thank God he didn't have to!

Souichi had begun to get hard again but Tetsuhiro didn't think he'd be able to come only from behind this early on, so he started stroking Souichi in time with his thrusts while the blonde held onto the sheets shouting and cursing out his pleasure. He even managed to gasp out an instruction of "Faster!" at one point which nearly sent Tetsuhiro over the edge. By this time they were both so close, they practically came together. The younger man nearly fell onto Souichi as he gathered him into his arms and they held onto each other while their hearts slowed back down to a steady beat.

* * *

It was still dark outside when Souichi awakened. He was a bit disoriented and lay still trying to figure out what was wrong. There was a weight across both his legs and chest. He felt very warm and secure; then he realized why the heaviness was there. Morinaga held him firmly against his side and had an arm and leg draped over the blonde's body. 'Ah, jeez! We really did  **it**  last night!' he blushed at the memory of himself completely reveling in their activities. 'It shouldn't have felt that good.  **He's**  obviously had a ton of practice!' Souichi suddenly wanted to punch the idiot; but as he turned to do just that to the sleeping man, he got a good look at his face. Morinaga looked so happy lying there; Souichi lowered his fist and sighed. He lightly ran his fingers through the dark brown hair, 'It's as soft as it looks.' He had a rather reluctant smile on his face as he settled down and went back to sleep.

When Tetsuhiro woke at dawn, Souichi was cradled in his arms with his head resting on the younger man's chest. 'This is good! I could get used to this. But, he's going to want coffee and a bath when he wakes up," Souichi was so out of it that Tetsuhiro was able to shift him back onto his pillow without rousing him. He gently covered the blonde so he wouldn't get cold and slid out of bed in order to get the bath ready for his lover.

By the time Souichi woke again, it was to the smell of coffee. A mug was on the night stand and as he sat up to reach for it an ache shot through his lower back. "Ahhh, mmm," he groaned as he massaged the sore area.

Tetsuhiro heard him and carefully poked his head around the bedroom door, "Good morning, Sensei. Um, how do you feel?"

"How do you think? I feel like I got run over by a truck," was the cranky response. "I'm tired, sore, and covered in…I don't  **want**  to know what I'm covered in!" He sighed, "I need a bath…and some aspirin."

Tetsuhiro entered the room and sat down on the bed beside the irritable man. Souichi eyed him suspiciously but stayed put. "The bath is ready whenever you are," he indicated the door to the master bathroom. He began to grin mischievously, "Breakfast is almost done and the aspirin will be beside your plate!" He jumped up to dodge the pillow Souichi threw at him. "Do you need help getting up?" he asked laughing as he threw the pillow back. "I can carry you, if you want me to."

"No!" the blonde blushed. "I can handle that much myself!" Tetsuhiro was still grinning as he left the room. 'Damn him…' Souichi huffed to himself. He was sore, it was true…and although he didn't want to admit it, when he saw the big oaf, there was a different kind of ache he felt as well. 'Last night didn't cure me at all,' he softly groaned again as he stood up and headed, a bit unsteadily, toward the bathroom.

Souichi took so long, Tetsuhiro started to worry about him. Just when he was about to go check, the blonde came out. He looked absolutely adorable. He was wearing the sweats Tetsuhiro had left for him. They were oversized for comfort and they made him look like a kid playing dress-up; he'd even had to cuff up both the sleeves and pants. Souichi obviously knew the kind of picture he made…and didn't like it.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked waspishly.

"They're in the wash," the younger man answered innocently. "They got a bit…messy so I decided to launder them. They'll be ready later. What's wrong with what you have on?" his eyes glinted a bit dangerously.

"Don't be stupid! I look like an idiot. I can't go out like this!" he sat down gingerly at the table. The bath had helped but he was still sore. He found the aspirin bottle right by his plate as promised and he picked it up, "Why is there a bow on this?" he asked darkly.

"Why not? I thought it looked festive," Tetsuhiro knew he was pushing his luck but he was having a lot of fun, even if it was partly at Souichi's expense.

"Don't get so cocky! It's not over yet. You haven't won!" Souichi growled, shaking a couple of pills out onto his palm

Tetsuhiro got serious as he leaned over to put Souichi's plate down and he brushed his lips against the blonde's ear, "What isn't over yet?" he whispered. "What's my prize when I win?"

Souichi closed his eyes for a moment and shivered, "Never mind! Go over there and sit down why don't you! I'm hungry."

The brunette backed off and sat down with his own plate, "Good, eat up! I made lots." He quietly smiled and finished with the thought, 'I want you to keep your strength up…we're not done yet.'

Breakfast was delicious and Souichi ate with gusto, "Where did you learn to cook like this?" he asked in amazement.

Tetsuhiro grinned, "I learned out of desperation. When I began living on my own I didn't have a very big budget so I had to learn to cook in order to keep from starving!"

"You learned well, this is great!" He looked around frowning, "Why now? You obviously have an income that would allow you to take it easier; why not hire a staff?"

"Ugh," Tetsuhiro made a face. "I like my privacy, and anyway cooking and cleaning is relaxing for me, like meditation. It allows me to zone out and unwind. However, I do have a housekeeper come in once a week to do whatever I might miss."

"Hmm," Souichi got up with his coffee to wander around. Tetsuhiro noticed he was moving easier than earlier and was relieved. When the blonde stopped in front of the painting in the living room, the younger man had an idea.

"You like that piece, don't you?" When Souichi nodded he added, "That artist is a friend of mine and she has a new show opening tomorrow. Would you like to go with me?" He walked up behind the blonde and wrapped his arms around him as he nuzzled his neck. Souichi thought about pulling away for about a second and then he relaxed as he leaned back into the embrace.

"Sure, if I can walk!" he grumped. As Tetsuhiro continued to kiss his neck, he added glaring over his shoulder, "Didn't you get enough yesterday?"

"Nope," was his only response and when Souichi looked at him startled, Tetsuhiro turned him around in his arms and with his hands resting on the blonde's firm butt he continued, "I'm beginning to believe I could never get enough of you…you're addictive."

Souichi put down his cup, and frowning, folded his arms and let them rest on Tetsuhiro's chest, "You're a sex fiend…a pervert; you do know this, right? No one could want it that much or this soon after last night!" Of course that's when he noticed his own body's reaction to the other man. About then Tetsuhiro started pressing their hips together and massaging Souichi's ass and he also noticed his boss's condition.

He grinned, "Well, if I am, so are you! What do you call this?" and his hand slipped inside the other's pants and found his erection.

"Nng! An accident?" Souichi answered a little desperately. "Please not so soon! I'm still sore."

"Don't you know, the more you work out the easier it gets? The pain will go away sooner the more we do it!"

"That's for exercise, not sex!"

"What would you call last night, if not exercise!?"

"But, mmph!" Tetsuhiro silenced him with a kiss. Souichi's brain shut down pretty quickly at that point as the younger man's hands started roaming over his body and his lips and tongue began another mind-blowing kiss. Souichi twined his fingers into the younger man's hair and hung on as Tetsuhiro guided him over to the sofa.

Souichi could not believe he was allowing the sex maniac to lay siege to his body like this. In one really small corner of his brain he was actively chewing himself out for being so weak and watching everything in horror; while the rest of his mind and body were freely and willingly giving themselves up to Tetsuhiro and how good the younger man could make him feel.

As Tetsuhiro pushed Souichi down onto the sofa, he marveled at how quickly the blonde was adapting. He had honestly expected him to try and make a run for it the night before but here he was, responding so beautifully to everything the younger man did to him.

Tetsuhiro had planned that if he could ever get his unwilling beauty over to his place, he wouldn't let him go until they both were completely satisfied by their lovemaking. That's why he'd so considerately thrown Souichi's clothes into the laundry and why he'd pulled the cutest, comfiest sweats out for him to wear. He'd wanted to keep Souichi there without actually tying him up. He'd meant it when he'd said he had no intention of hurrying.

"Souichi," he sat back for a second, "did Kanako know you'd be out all night?"

It took a moment for the question to register with the older man, "No, she's in Tokyo for the weekend. She'll be back tomorrow evening."

"Good…" Tetsuhiro slowly began to smile. "That gives me plenty of time to completely love you!"

"C—c—completely!? There won't be anything left of me!" Souichi started to protest but the brunette moved in and reclaimed his mouth so he couldn't say anything else and soon after he couldn't concentrate on anything except Tetsuhiro's taste, touch, and scent being permanently etched into his body.

Tetsuhiro made quick work of the sweatshirt and took his time running his fingers along Souichi's chest and abdomen, placing kisses as he went. Souichi kept trying to keep his voice down and finally grabbed a throw pillow to cover his face. However, the younger man wasn't having any of that.

"Souichi," he whispered as he removed the pillow from his lover's hands, "don't try to keep your voice down. I want to hear your moans…and screams! I want to watch your face; I want to know I'm the one making you feel this way."

The blonde looked embarrassed and aggravated as he answered, "I don't want the whole building to hear me. And I can't keep my voice down, dammit!"

"No one will hear you; these apartments are very well insulated." He smiled seductively at his lover, "But I'm glad you can't keep quiet; it means you like what we're doing. I want to be the only one who can do this…make you crazy and wanting more," he bent down to Souichi's pants and started removing them.

"Idiot! Like I'd.…ahh!" Once Morinaga had freed the blonde's member, he'd sucked him into his mouth and was focused on making his lover scream. And scream he did; Souichi had absolutely no control over his voice or his body, all he could do was hold on and enjoy the ride. Once the older man started moving his hips, Tetsuhiro knew what was coming next and got ready to swallow all Souichi had to offer. Tetsuhiro grinned, licking his lips as Souichi caught his breath and watched in fascinated horror.

"How…could…you…" words failed him. "I can't believe it!"

Tetsuhiro laughed, "What? It's all a part of you…" and as he slowly ran a hand along the inside of Souichi's thigh he watched the older man begin to harden again. "That wasn't enough?"

"Shut up! Of course…it…was," Souichi's eyes widened as he realized he was becoming erect again. He was quickly reaching a point where he didn't know who to be more horrified of: Morinaga or himself.

"If you're not satisfied yet, I can let you devour me…and I don't mean with your mouth," the younger man started to slowly remove his own pants while Souichi watched a bit wild-eyed.

'Oh, shit, I'm toast!' was the blonde's predominant thought as Tetsuhiro finished shedding his clothes.

Morinaga moved in to lie on top of the blonde, between his legs as he began kissing his neck. Once Souichi was fully concentrating on his kisses, Tetsuhiro reached a hand down to rub against his opening. Souichi jerked slightly at the touch, and then moaned as he spread his legs a bit wider to allow the younger man access. Tetsuhiro wasn't even sure if the blonde realized what he'd just done, but he wasn't about to stop and ask. He began to slowly open his lover up to receive him. He moved his mouth down to Souichi's nipples and took turns sucking them as Souichi arched into it and Tetsuhiro continued to insert his fingers into that lovely bottom. When he felt Souichi was ready, he repositioned himself and while he watched the blonde's face, he entered him. He stopped and closed his eyes when he felt his lover tightening around him. God that felt sooo good! As Souichi began to relax, Tetsuhiro impatiently plunged in further and Souichi let out another soft moan. That sound just about undid the younger man and he groaned, "Souichi, can I move faster?" All he got in response was a nod, but that was enough.

As the younger man picked up the pace, Souichi wrapped his arms around Morinaga's shoulders and held on, sighing out his pleasure until he felt ready to explode. Souichi literally saw stars when he came that time. Tetsuhiro felt himself held in a rough massage and he came as well, burying himself as far inside his lover as he could.

When Souichi came back to himself, he had Morinaga cradled in his arms and realized they were still joined. He thought he should be upset, but he couldn't work up the energy. He languidly ran his fingers through the younger man's hair as he held him, and decided that for this one time he could wait until Morinaga was ready to get up.

 


	11. Chapter 10

Souichi beat Kanako back to their place with thirty minutes to spare Sunday night. He couldn't believe he'd spent the entire weekend with Morinaga; he was such a perv! He was also stunned that he'd stayed at the younger man's place for two more rounds on their weekend sex marathon. At the moment he was refusing to think about it too much. In his saner moments he'd decided that the past couple days would buy him some time away from his assistant and his needs. He didn't want to think about what some time away from the younger man might do to  **him**.

He also didn't want anyone in his family to know their friendship had taken such a twisted detour through the twilight zone. He wasn't ready for THAT! He was sure Morinaga wouldn't spill it. The younger man was more or less letting him move at his own pace.

When his sister came in, he was lounging on the sofa reading a book and acting like he'd had nothing better to do all weekend. He'd forgotten that he was currently wearing the same outfit he went out in on Friday night when he'd told her he was headed for Morinaga's. "Well, it's about time you got home! How's your salary man doing?" he asked witheringly.

She grinned and ignored his tone, "He's fine. Did anything good happen while I was gone?" she asked innocently while watching the blush steal across her brother's face.

"Nothing much," he responded mildly, "I just went out to a gallery opening with Morinaga. The artist is a friend of his and I'm quickly becoming a fan!"

"So that's what you did Friday?" she leaned over to give him a kiss and sniffed his shirt. 'It's a different detergent…hmm.'

"No we did that today," he hugged her as he got up. "I think I'm going to bed, it's late and I'm tired."

'That's the truth!' he thought as he went to his room.

"Night, then…" she smiled knowingly as she went to bed.

Morning rolled around too quickly for Souichi. The sound of dishes clanking woke him and he smelled eggs cooking. It reminded him so strongly of Saturday, he clenched. 'Dear God, what's happening to me?' He scrubbed his hands through his hair as he sat up and wondered what would happen next, until he became too uncomfortable to stay still. He hurriedly got up, grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom, thankful it had a lock on the door.

He heard Kanako singing in the kitchenette as he came into the living room some time later. 'She sounds happy,' he smiled to himself. 'If that bastard, Isogai, makes her this happy, I'll have to back off…a little.'

"Hey, Kanako…" he'd poked his head into the kitchen and he noticed the ring she was wearing. He picked up her hand and looked at it carefully, "Have you had it appraised? It  **is**  real, right?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her with a scowl.

She started to laugh and tried to take her hand back, "You're horrible, of course it's real!" He smiled and kissed her hand before letting go.

"I think it's about time I moved out," Souichi casually began as he gathered the dishes to set the table. "I need my space and you're going to need the room here to plan your wedding. That way I won't cramp your style if you want him to stay over."

She was surprised, "Does that mean you're giving us your blessing?" she squealed and gave him a huge bear hug before he could even nod.

"Kanako, let go! You're choking me!" he gasped. When she let him go she spun around in joy as he caught his breath and watched her. "Yeah, you got it…but if he EVER hurts you, I'll kill him!"

"Ok, ok; I can hardly wait to tell him!" She danced over to the phone to call Tai and then stopped, frowning, "But you don't have to move. You're not in the way."

Souichi thought about his own crazy situation and shook his head, "No it's time I found my own place. I've just been lazy! We're both adults and need our space. We don't need to worry if the other is slightly late and neither of us can completely relax here with friends without getting in the other's way, right?"

"Wrong! In a year I'm getting married and then Tai and I will find our own place. Until then you might as well stay. You aren't in my way and I won't get in yours!" He tried to object and she shushed him. "When you want to stay out, just call and let me know. I won't ask any questions. You can tell me who it is when you're ready."

Souichi tried to deny her suspicions and couldn't. He wanted to move out so she wouldn't ask too much or see too much. He was straight (he completely refused to accept any other possibility) but he was sleeping with a man. And that was something he didn't want his family to know, especially his little sister!

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, Nii-san," she repeated. "I love you and want you to be happy, the rest is immaterial."

He sighed and gave in, "Okay."

* * *

Souichi stomped to the office he shared with Morinaga. He wasn't sure what kind of face to show his assistant. On one hand, he was the boss, the one calling the shots…at work. On the other hand their relationship was no longer exactly that of colleagues and friends. He wasn't the kind of person who could act all mushy and he fervently hoped Morinaga wasn't either. 'If he even looks like he might touch me in front of anyone, I'll kill him!'

The blonde opened the door carefully and peered inside. It was empty, 'Hmph, where is the idiot?' He put his satchel down and started gathering and organizing his notes for his first class. He was completely focused on his work when Morinaga finally showed up.

"Good morning, Sensei!" he called as he breezed in.

"Mornin'," grunted Souichi. The morning began so normally, the older man was surprised. It was as if nothing at all had happened.

As the day wore on, Souichi started to get antsy. Morinaga continued to act as if nothing had happened over the weekend. The older man knew better and he kept waiting for…something. He'd never spent such a long day at school. The time completely dragged by to Souichi's fevered brain. He felt as if it would never end….

When classes were finally over he trudged back to the office for a break before he was needed in the lab, and collapsed onto his chair. He decided to rest his head on the desk for a moment…and his eyes closed.

He was sound asleep when Morinaga finally entered the room. His whole expression softened as he watched the sleeping man. He loved him so much sometimes he felt like he'd explode! He carefully walked over to stand beside Souichi and gently removed his glasses and brushed his hair from his face. The blonde started to waken at Morinaga's touch and his eyes opened. For a moment he didn't know where he was, then it all came back; the long and lousy day, his assistant acting as if nothing had happened, his anger and frustration. He sat up and swung his fist at the younger man's face as Tetsuhiro bent over him.

The younger man shook his head and caught Souichi's fist in mid-swing. "What are you trying to pull, Sensei?" he laughed. "I wasn't doing anything…yet."

Souichi glared at his smiling face, "What are you talking about? You've been weird all day! Why haven't you…?" His voice trailed off when he realized what he'd been about to ask and he turned a deep crimson he was so embarrassed.

"Why didn't I…what?" Tetsuhiro was puzzled for a moment. When the other man's reaction registered, he suddenly understood, "Why didn't I…try anything?" He leaned in as he answered his own question in a sultry whisper, "I didn't because we're at school and I knew you wouldn't want me to. But if that's not the case, I won't be so careful in the future," he finished smiling, his eyes dancing.

"No! I mean, you're right, don't do anything while we're at school! You're absolutely right I don't want you to here. But…" his voice trailed off as he tried to gather his thoughts. He didn't know how to phrase what had been spinning around in his head all day and he began to get angry; at Morinaga, at himself, and at the whole ridiculous situation. "Never mind! It doesn't matter anyway," he snapped as he tried to turn away from the idiot.

"It does too, matter!" Tetsuhiro cupped Souichi's chin with his hand and made him look at him and answered seriously, "I don't ever want to forget any of it. It was the best two days of my life and if I could have, we would have come to school together this morning. I hated it when you left even though I knew you wanted to be home by the time Kanako got back.

"I was trying to be cautious since I suspected you would kill me if I'd done anything to you this morning," he continued. "I didn't think you'd end up insecure."

Souichi was shocked, "I—I wasn't!" He began to get pissed at the younger man's arrogance, "Pretty confident aren't you!?" When Tetsuhiro started to speak again, he interrupted, "Shut up! We have work to do and don't need to be discussing this right now!" once again he tried to turn back to his desk but Morinaga had a firm grip on his chair, "You can let go anytime now!"

The younger man leaned down and gently kissed Souichi, and when he pulled away he said, "I'll let it go for today since we both have a lot to do; but I'd like it if you came over this weekend."

Souichi's eyes widened when he realized what Morinaga had just said. "This weekend… **again**? You've got to be kidding!"

"Nope, I meant exactly what I said. If I could, I'd be inside you every night, but I know that's impossible; so how about every weekend?" he smiled as he said that as if it was completely natural.

The blonde gasped, "How can you say stuff like that as if it's nothing? I…I  **won't**  agree to every weekend…When my next research project starts, that'll be impossible!"

"Well then, since it hasn't begun yet, let's start with this weekend, shall we?" he grinned as Souichi floundered for a reply.

* * *

The end of the week came quickly and as each day passed the anticipation Souichi felt got worse. At work it was business as usual, which was as it should be. The two men didn't have any time for each other due to their class and lab schedules. However, they were both looking forward to Friday; although Souichi was determined not to admit it. He kept trying to convince the younger man that he needed a break for another week. Morinaga wasn't listening; his intuition was telling him Souichi was full of it, and just being stubborn.

Friday afternoon they were alone in the lab and Tetsuhiro watched the tasty specimen sitting across the room. Souichi was focused on the slide under his microscope and completely oblivious to the world around him. The younger man couldn't help but watch, fascinated by the way the afternoon sunlight danced across his boss's blonde hair. The light turned his hair into burnished gold and Tetsuhiro's fingers yearned to touch it.

"You know Sensei, in all honesty I love your hair," he shot out suddenly.

Souichi tensed as if he'd been touched, "What are you blathering about? If you have time to sit there making foolish remarks, try writing your findings up instead."

Morinaga smiled and walked over to the irate man. "I already have," he answered as he gently ran his fingers through Souichi's ponytail. "It's not foolish, I love it; the feel, texture, the length. It would be nice to see it down, brushing your shoulders, glinting in the sunlight every once in a while." When Souichi turned to knock his hand away, Tetsuhiro grabbed the blonde's fist and brought it to his lips to kiss.

He met Souichi's eyes again, "You're going to think I'm weird, but I enjoy pissing you off. You're beautiful whether you're angry or needy."

Souichi jerked his hand back from the idiot's teasing lips, "You  **do**  get that this is sexual harassment, don't you? You agreed you wouldn't bring personal issues to work!"

The younger man grinned as he trapped Souichi in his chair, "But I don't hear you telling me to stop." He leaned over to nip Souichi's ear and the blonde couldn't even think of a comeback right away.

"I have told you to…um…sto…p," he answered weakly.

The sex fiend grinned as Souichi tilted his head so the younger man could get at his neck. "You shouldn't turn into my advances like this if you don't want me to continue. And you need to be more forceful when you say to stop. Right now," he paused to reclaim that very ready mouth for a brief kiss, "you not only seem willing, you seem eager." When Tetsuhiro deepened the kiss he also palmed Souichi's groin through his pants and realized just how eager the older man was. Souichi grabbed the younger man's wrist and tried to protest the touch but it came out as a groan instead. When they broke apart, Tetsuhiro panted in his ear, "Sen…sei, don't you think it's time to call it a day and go home?"

"Give me some room, for crying out loud," Souichi put some distance between the two of them as he flipped open his cell to call his sister.

"Hey there…um, I won't be home tonight. Yeah, sure, I will. Good night," he ended the call as he picked up his backpack.

"Are you bringing work home to grade?" Tetsuhiro asked, amused.

Souichi began to blush as he answered, "No…some clothes."

"Ah…so you prepared for today," the younger man was delighted.

"Well why not," he retorted a bit defensively. "I do not want to be stuck without a change this time."

Tetsuhiro grinned, "Damn it. I'll have to think of another way to keep you from leaving too soon."

Souichi gave him a very level look, "I expect you'll think of something…."

His assistant's smile turned rather wicked, "Is that a challenge?"

The blonde smiled a bit grimly in return as he walked over to him, "Let's just say that after last weekend…I wouldn't put  **anything**  past you."

* * *

By the time they got to the apartment, both men had forgotten about everything except each other. They stumbled inside, locked in yet another embrace. They didn't even bother turning on the lights, as they worked their way into the bedroom before they broke their lip-lock. Souichi was still so new to it all that he was willing to let Tetsuhiro take the lead. The truth was that the blonde enjoyed having the younger man in charge. He wouldn't admit even to himself how much of a turn on it was to be told what to do. It was only when he was under Tetsuhiro that he willingly gave up all control…and it was liberating.

As Tetsuhiro playfully pushed Souichi onto the bed, the older man scrambled to put a little distance between them. "Wait, wait, wait you moron! I need air!" He thought for a moment, frowning, "Tell me…is there any way I don't have to be turned into a human pretzel when we do this?"

Tetsuhiro looked at him blankly and then started giggling. His giggle turned into a cackle and he had to sit down beside his impatient lover. "Hmph! Well excuse me for being sooo entertaining," Souichi said a bit huffily as he started to get up.

"Oh, no you don't!" Tetsuhiro grabbed the man around his waist and brought him back down beside him. "You're not getting away that easily," he smiled as he put his head on Souichi's shoulder and looked up at him. "I wasn't expecting that question and it startled me," he sat up as he proceeded to take down the blonde's hair and run his fingers through it. "There are different positions we can try that might be more comfortable for you. Would you like to experiment this weekend?"

Souichi refused to think about the implications of the 'this weekend' statement and answered honestly, "I might as well experiment. This," he waved his hand around, "is all new to me."

The younger man looked sad for a second and then his face cleared, "I'm sorry for leading you astray like this, Sensei."

"No! …I didn't mean it like that."

"How do you mean it?" Tetsuhiro wanted to know; he had very little faith in how long they'd last together.

"Um," the older man started to blush slowly and he averted his eyes as he gathered his thoughts. "When you propositioned me and after you followed through on your threat to distance yourself I…I…missed you," he met Tetsuhiro's eyes. "I didn't believe it would make that much of a difference, but not being able to just…shoot the shit with you; it mattered. I didn't want to be apart from you. If it meant that we had to be like this then I could handle it. I thought it was worth it."

Tetsuhiro closed his eyes and took a steadying breath, "I'll do my best make sure you never regret it!" He took his man into his arms and slowly began to turn him into a mass of quivering desire. He wanted Souichi to need him as much as he needed to eat, drink, and sleep. Sometimes his greed for the blonde terrified him, but he couldn't help himself; he loved the man so much!

Tetsuhiro made quick work of their clothes and began playing with Souichi's nipples. He urged them to erection with both tongue and teeth and had the blonde moaning in no time. Souichi was already half-hard by the time their clothes had been discarded and the nipple play brought him fully to attention. The younger man pulled away slightly in order to take inventory, his desire for Souichi showing plainly on his face.

'How can he look at me like that?' Souichi thought. 'His face…it's so intense! How can he…?' "Mmm!" he threw back his head as Morinaga hit another sensitive area.

"Souichi," Tetsuhiro ran his hands down that lithe frame as he gazed at his lover, "you have such…an erotic body. How did you ever get to now without turning into a complete sex addict?"

"Shut up! Ahh!" his eyes opened wide as Tetsuhiro inserted a finger into him. The younger man smiled as he circled his finger inside the blonde. Souichi hadn't noticed much of this last weekend so this time he got to experience the full effect of Tetsuhiro's fingers. In went finger number two and Tetsuhiro began widening the entrance and rubbing Souichi's sweet spot. The blonde's moans and whimpers got louder as Tetsuhiro continued.

'He sounds like he's having fun,' grinned the younger man to himself as he moved into position between Souichi's legs. "Are you ready?" Unfocused amber eyes gazed up at him as he let Souichi see him stroke himself. The blonde looked stunned as he watched Tetsuhiro's hands move methodically. "See this? You do see that I want you, to be inside you? I want to take this," he touched himself, "and claim you. Do you…want me to?"

Souichi looked like he was in a trance as he watched Morinaga and he slowly nodded. The younger man smiled and raised Souichi's legs to his shoulders. Then as he watched the other's face, he plunged inside. Souichi cried out and met that first thrust; they were fully joined in that instant.

Both men closed their eyes for a moment. When Tetsuhiro felt that Souichi was ready, he started to move; burying himself into his lover repeatedly and deeply. He looked down at Souichi and it was a stunning sight. The man had his eyes closed; his hair was spread out beneath him, his hands were clenched into the sheets and his body glistened in the low light. He was breathing heavily and moaning from their activities. He was consumed by his own carnal pleasures and was the most beautiful creature Tetsuhiro had ever seen.

When he felt Morinaga pause, Souichi opened his eyes and Tetsuhiro gulped at the look on his face. His eyes were half-open and completely filled with desire. The younger man had never seen such an expression of naked want on any of his lover's faces before. Souichi was his and wanted him, that much was obvious. As Tetsuhiro gazed at his lover, Souichi began to move his hips so that he was impaling himself on the younger man's cock.

The brunette got the point and set a feverish pace until Souichi's body started to shudder. He grabbed the blonde's hips and continued to slam into him until his lover screamed and came. The younger man reached his climax shortly after. He let the blonde's legs slide back onto the bed, pulling out of that tight warm hole and taking the older man into his arms.

"Whoa," was Souichi's dazed observation.

"Yeah," Tetsuhiro sighed as he buried his face in his lover's neck and hair.

* * *

Later that night Souichi woke with a start. He felt the warm chest pressed against his back and sighed. Then his stomach growled; they'd forgotten to eat earlier. He was also sticky from their activities, so he decided to take a quick bath first and then find some food. He wasn't much of a cook but he was a great scrounger!

As he soaked in the tub, he thought back on their earlier activities. He wasn't nearly as sore as last week, thank God! The position had been better on his hips, too, 'Although he still tried to turn me into a pretzel!' He sighed as he remembered Morinaga right at the point of climax, "He was so gorgeous," he muttered. As he relaxed in the water, he felt his body release the rest of Morinaga's fluids. That was one area of the whole thing he didn't like—Morinaga coming inside him. It felt great when it happened but afterwards, 'Nasty!'…he refused to think about THAT anymore and quickly got out of the tub.

By the time Tetsuhiro surfaced, Souichi had put together a rather good selection of leftovers for them to share. They ate their simple meal while they discussed work and argued about some of their more tiresome students.

While they were washing up in the kitchen, the atmosphere began to change. Souichi wasn't sure if the vibes were coming from Morinaga or himself. He'd begun hardening as they did the dishes, 'I'm becoming completely perverted!' and he was anticipating Morinaga's touch by the time it finally came. The younger man wrapped his arms around Souichi's waist and gave him a hug. Souichi looked over his shoulder and glared, "Is this how it's going to be from now on? You reaming me out every chance you get?"

"Hmm," Tetsuhiro considered the question seriously, "I expect we'll eventually do things besides pleasure each other," his hands started wandering under Souichi's clothes. "But for now, there's so much to learn, and so much to teach, that staying here isn't so bad, is it?" he kissed Souichi's neck as his hands continued to roam.

Souichi groaned and repositioned himself to allow ease of access to his groin whenever Morinaga decided to dip down below his waist. Tetsuhiro noticed and as he smiled delightedly, he obliged his lover and slid his hand into his pants to pet him. The younger man suddenly withdrew and turned Souichi around to face him, gathered him into his arms and began to walk him back into the living room, kissing him all the while. Their legs kept getting tangled up so Tetsuhiro picked the blonde up and Souichi automatically wrapped his legs around the other man's waist. That worked pretty well until the big idiot started to massage his ass. Souichi began to lose control then as he started to press himself into Tetsuhiro. When the younger man put him down on the bed, Souichi reached up to pull him down to him.

"So you like it when I rub your butt, huh?" Tetsuhiro panted as he pulled his own shirt off and leaned down to do the same for Souichi. The older man made it a bit difficult by starting on Morinaga's pants. He was so horny, it was driving him crazy! The younger man laughed outright as he helped his impatient man. "Can't wait…can you?"

"Shut up and strip, dammit!" Souichi looked at Morinaga with blazing eyes and the younger man's control snapped as he proceeded to do as instructed and then completely claim the man under him.

 


	12. Chapter 11

The next few weeks passed in a bit of a blur; Souichi and Morinaga fell into a rhythm of working hard at school during the week and playing hard on the weekends. However, Tetsuhiro was a very playful lover and just couldn't keep his hands to himself. It was becoming harder for Souichi to keep the younger man in his place at work and it was very frustrating to the blonde.

Souichi was just leaving his classroom to head back to the office one afternoon when a senior professor approached him. The man had been something of a mentor to him ever since he began teaching at the university and the younger man liked and respected him very much.

"Afternoon, Professor," he greeted the man, smiling.

"Hello, Tatsumi-kun," the professor returned with a small grin. "I was wondering if you had some time. We need to talk."

* * *

When Tetsuhiro entered the office he shared with his boss an hour later he found the room reeking of cigarettes and Souichi pacing behind his desk.

"Hey, Sensei…what's up?" he asked as he walked to the window to open it and let some fresh air in.

"Morinaga, are you done?" the blonde snapped at his assistant as he turned to look at him.

"Yep, I was just about to pack up for the day."

"Good, how about I take you to dinner? I need to get off this campus  **right now** …and we need to talk," Souichi grabbed the paperwork he'd planned to take home and headed for the door.

"We need to talk?" when Souichi nodded curtly Tetsuhiro thought to himself, 'That's never a good sign.'

After they'd settled into one of the back tables at their favorite restaurant Souichi got to the point, "One of the professors pulled me aside today to have a little chat. It seems some rumors have started to circulate about us. One of our students has seen both of us, at different times, at Adamsite and decided that we're an item. It seems there's been a good deal of speculation and it finally filtered through to the higher ups."

"Is that why you were smoking?" Tetsuhiro asked as he ran a hand through his hair. He had a really bad feeling about where this conversation was headed.

Souichi nodded, "Partly. After that talk it was either smoke or drink; I needed to calm down. It's not only rumors, you see; we were seen." The blonde glared at the man across the table from him. He'd warned the idiot to keep their friendship away from work, but the idiot just couldn't do it! Now they both could end up in deep shit.

"Who saw us?" Tetsuhiro leaned forward, frowning.

"Fukushima," Souichi sighed.

"Shit," the younger man closed his eyes. "What was the outcome of your conversation?" the younger man needed to know where he stood both at school and with Souichi. He was afraid he knew what was coming next and he just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

"The professor said he would never have said anything if it had only been rumors, but since he'd seen us, he'd decided to discuss it all with me. The university doesn't like its staff airing their personal lives at school, regardless of who is doing what with whom. If we don't want our careers jeopardized, we need to straighten up. He told me he'd keep his knowledge to himself as long as we behaved; if he catches us again, that's it! He also said that you should find a new office and next term we shouldn't share our labs like we've been doing," Souichi paused to angrily take a drink of water. He'd never been so pissed off in his life. The whole scene earlier had been incredibly distasteful to him. He was a private person and preferred to keep his personal affairs…well…private!

"So, you want me to move out, huh?" Tetsuhiro asked quietly, carefully watching the man sitting across the table from him.

"No, I don't!" snapped the blonde, glaring at the fool. "I said that was his suggestion. I told him that nothing had happened that either of us should feel guilty or ashamed of, and that nothing else would ever occur on campus no matter who we were involved with.

"I also said that if we separated our classes and office that would lend credibility to the rumors and would be as good as an admission of guilt." Souichi thumped his fist onto the table, "It ain't happening!"

The brunette was surprised to say the least. He'd been sure once Souichi had been confronted that he'd choose to distance himself from Tetsuhiro. The younger man had been so happy these past few weeks but he'd occasionally felt as if that happiness would disappear if he blinked. It sometimes seemed incredibly ephemeral to him; almost as if it were all a dream. The only time their relationship seemed real to Tetsuhiro was when he was making his lover scream from passion.

"Where does that leave us?" Tetsuhiro wanted to know.

Souichi looked at him in frustration, "No, and I mean absolutely no, playtime at work: no flirting, no touching, no locked doors, and no pulling me into any empty utility closets!" That last one was what the professor had witnessed and the blonde could have died when he'd realized it.

Tetsuhiro grinned, "Aw, really? But it was fun!" He didn't see Souichi's fist until it was too late, "Jeez, that's not fair, Sensei!" he complained.

"Shut up! I'm not goofing around here, I'm serious and you'd better take it seriously!" his voice was rising with his anger and other customers were beginning to stare at the two men.

"I will, I will," Tetsuhiro responded, lightly touching his aching cheek. After considering the situation for a minute he continued, "Do you think that'll be enough?"

Souichi seriously considered the question, "It better be! I won't have people dictating how I live my life! The school only has jurisdiction over my life while I'm at work, and nowhere else, as long as I'm not being exhibitionistic all over the place; or breaking any laws."

Tetsuhiro smiled sadly, "In a perfect world, maybe; but we don't live in one, do we Sensei? I won't be the one to ruin your life, I swear that. If it doesn't die down, I can always leave," he tried to look as if it wouldn't matter to him…and he succeeded all too well.

The blonde looked at him in shock, "You could do that huh? Just leave like it's no big deal? Yeah, I guess you could, if all I've been to you was a bit of fun that you could take or leave!" this was all said at a fierce whisper and when Souichi was done, he got up, threw some cash on the table and stormed out. Tetsuhiro stayed long enough to make sure the check was covered and hurried after the older man. He hadn't meant to sound quite so flippant and he wanted to explain himself before Souichi got his nose even more out of joint.

By the time Tetsuhiro made it to the street, Souichi was a block and a half away. The older man was fuming. He'd fought to keep things at work as they were; he'd never once contemplated breaking off his…friendship with the younger man; and Morinaga…! "Damn him, I guess a good piece of ass is all I am to him!" he began to chuckle bitterly to himself and he felt a prickle behind his eyes. He stopped in shock, 'No way in hell will I cry over that idiot!' As he began to take off again, he felt two arms wrap themselves around his waist. He was picked up and moved between two nearby buildings where he wouldn't be seen. "Get off!" he started screaming, and then he realized who his assailant was and calmed down a little. "Goddamn it Morinaga, don't do that!" he glared at his idiot assistant.

"Sorry, Sensei, I called out but I guess you didn't hear me," Tetsuhiro panted as he released his irate lover. "We weren't done talking. I never meant to make you think that leaving would be easy, or that I really don't love you. I was just trying to make our separating from each other easier, that's all," that was when he noticed how miserable Souichi looked.

"Were you crying, Sensei?" he blurted out in astonishment.

"No! I'm just so frustrated by the whole mess; my eyes started leaking…that's all!" Souichi knew that excuse was unbelievably lame but he couldn't come up with a better one so he left it at that and the next moment Morinaga had pulled him into his arms for a tight bear hug.

"I'm sorry, Sensei! Don't ever doubt how much I love you, how much I need you in my life!" he looked deeply into the older man's eyes and then rested their foreheads together as he continued, "That's why I said what I did…I wanted to make it easier for you to break things off with me if that was where our conversation was headed.

"I know we have different reasons for being together; I love you and want us to be together for the rest of our lives, to—to be a family. I know you don't feel the same way; for you it's more of a rebound relationship, a way to get your feet back under you after Wakana left."

Souichi jerked in Morinaga's arms at that, "What!? What are you talking about? Where does Wakana even come in to this?"

Tetsuhiro sighed impatiently, "Sensei, remember? I  **was**  the one who found you after that woman left. You'd had a complete meltdown because of her! What else could I think!?"

Souichi broke eye contact as he began to chuckle softly, "She called me a coward…I guess she was right," he muttered. He sighed as he backed out of Morinaga's embrace, "That wasn't because Wakana left. She did the right thing, our marriage was over and I just didn't want to admit it. She told me some truths I wasn't ready to face at the time, that's why I fell apart," he looked around at their location and added, "Can we continue this somewhere else, please?"

"We're close to my place, is that ok?" Tetsuhiro asked quietly.

Souichi nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

By the time they reached Morinaga's place Souichi was jumping at every sound. He did not want to have this conversation, but he knew it was necessary. Tetsuhiro had noticed how agitated the older man was and felt for him but he was also curious at what Souichi had to say, so he kept silent. The older man strode to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and then went to the living room to flop on to the sofa. As he took a swig he glanced at Morinaga, "Are you gonna sit?"

The younger man was still standing at the door to the living room quietly watching him. When he heard the question he came in to sit across from the blonde. Souichi glared at him when he realized Morinaga wasn't about to let him off the hook and he'd have to explain himself.

He nervously cleared his throat, "Ehm, Wakana told me that …umm…she'd noticed a change in me…you know…after you arrived. She said she felt like she didn't exist for me anymore, that the only person who was important to me was…you," the last word was said so softly that Tetsuhiro barely heard him. Souichi was absolutely not making eye contact and was blushing so furiously he looked about ready to stroke out.

"Was she right?" the younger man asked as he carefully moved to sit beside his lover.

"To a certain degree, yes," Souichi sighed shaking his head in confusion. "I didn't realize it myself until she spelled it all out. I suppose it was too much for me to process all at once. At the time I was angry: at her, at myself, at you. So…I overloaded and shut down," he looked at the younger man trying to gauge his reaction.

Tetsuhiro sat there looking at Souichi for a while, "So you're saying that your meltdown was at least partly my fault?"

That surprised a laugh out of the older man, "Is that all you got out of what I just said?"

Tetsuhiro grinned back, "No, Sensei. You're saying that she felt you were already attracted to me before she left?" Souichi nodded reluctantly. "But you wouldn't face it because you were committed to her?" the blonde nodded vigorously. "So she decided to step away and leave you an open field?" Souichi shrugged. "Was she right?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" the older man growled, glaring at the obtuse idiot who seemed determined to embarrass him completely.

Tetsuhiro reached out to brush the hair out of his Sensei's face, "I'm sorry, but I need it spelled out for me. Where does this leave us? And don't say 'I don't know!' That's not good enough."

"Well, I  **don't**  know!" Souichi jerked away from his assistant's touch and got up to pace. "How do I answer that? I don't have a clue anymore. Before you came in to my life, I understood everything. I knew where I was headed, and even if it wasn't the most exciting life, it was a good one. Now I don't get anything! You regularly drive me up the wall. I'm not gay, yet here I am…with you, and I don't hate it! I've tried to figure it out and all I do is keep running around in circles!" he sat back down on the sofa and Tetsuhiro grabbed him before he could jump up again.

"It's ok," he held on until Souichi's breathing slowed down and he stopped struggling. "If you're really with me because you want to be and for no other reason, then there's no way I'll ever let you go," Tetsuhiro began softly. "However, I also don't want to be the reason your career might be ruined," Souichi frowned and shook his head. "Are you sure it'll be ok for us to continue to work together?"

Souichi pulled away again and nodded, "As long as we keep our personal and professional lives separate, it will be fine…I think."

"Do you have any ideas how the rumors started?" the younger man asked.

"A student saw us at Adamsite. That's all I know. Since we've never been there together, I'm assuming they jumped to conclusions based on our supposed orientation. I mean if you're gonna go to a gay bar, it's usually because you're gay, right?" he glared bitterly at the floor.

"If that's the case, then the rumors will die down eventually,"

"That's my hope," Souichi sighed. "With the new project starting soon we were going to have to cool it anyway, so maybe this boiling up now was good timing; if you can ever call this crap good."

"Cool it? What do you mean?" Tetsuhiro asked sharply as he began to worry again.

"I told you! When we started spending the weekends together, remember? Once the funding was approved, we wouldn't have as much time together. Everything's finally been approved and the project's a go. If rumors had to start circulating, now's the right time since we won't be together as much. By the time this project is done and the results are presented, there will be a whole new scandal for everyone to speculate about and we'll be off the hook," Souichi felt the argument was sound and looked quite satisfied with his reasoning.

Tetsuhiro on the other hand, only heard that they wouldn't be seeing each other and completely missed the rest. He only saw this development as the beginning of the end; Souichi still hadn't said anything about loving him back and Tetsuhiro feared he'd never feel that way. The only thing he was sure of was that there was an attraction, nothing more and it wasn't enough.

"I see…" he said tightly. "So we begin the first phase…when?"

"I think we'll be set by Monday," Souichi smiled, relieved there weren't any fireworks going off from his assistant.

Tetsuhiro looked at the blonde through half-closed eyes, "Then let's make this week count, Sensei." He jerked Souichi into his arms and practically split his lip when he kissed him.

When the older man came up for air all he got out was, "Wha—why are you…" before Tetsuhiro claimed his mouth again. When the separated Souichi realized his hands were twined into the younger man's hair and he was holding on for dear life. "Why so fierce?" he gasped out as Morinaga grazed his teeth along the other man's neck to his collarbone.

"I just realized this'll be the last time…for a while, and I want to make it count! I don't want you to forget what being with me is like. I want you back here, with me, when all this is over," he replied while he caressed the older man.

Souichi realized he was heating up and sinking in to the desire he felt for the younger man. "As if I could forget," was his last coherent retort as the two got down to enjoying each other.

 


	13. Chapter 12

A few days later, a depressed Tetsuhiro slunk into Adamsite for a drink. He was discouraged; he couldn't get Souichi to come over on the weekends and playing at work was now completely out of the question. He understood, he really did; but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was his Sensei's way of breaking things off between them. He sighed as he sat down at the bar and glumly smiled at Hiroto.

"Hey, Angel-kun, what's wrong? It's been a month since I last saw you and now you come in here; looking like you lost your last friend, and I know that's not true!" he grinned at his friend.

"I think I've been dumped," Tetsuhiro muttered.

"No way!" the redhead exclaimed. "Why do you think so?" From what he'd seen and heard, it didn't add up. Of course it had been a while since he'd seen either man so maybe….

The brunette glumly looked down at his drink, "About a week ago, we were seen playing at school. It was my fault, I thought no one was about and I blindsided Sensei into a storage closet. It didn't go any farther than some heavy petting but it was a mistake. We were lucky that the one who saw us has a soft spot for us both, and we were given a second chance; however Sensei has made it abundantly clear that I'm not to mess it up." Hiroto nodded to encourage his friend to continue.

"This week we also began a new project which will be occupying all our free time for the next few weeks. Sensei informed me that our weekends together are over until the project is done and our paper is presented. I just feel…like…it's an excuse."

Hiroto was silent while he watched his friend. Tetsuhiro looked so down and the redhead wasn't sure why he'd drawn that conclusion. Tatsumi-san's reactions and reasons were logical to the bartender. "Don't you think you may be over reacting?" he asked curiously.

Tetsuhiro met his eyes, "Intellectually I know I am, but…I can't help it! I want to be a part of his life so much, yet it feels like he's pulling away. I don't know what to do about it," he finished lamely.

Hiroto looked at Tetsuhiro with compassion. He knew more about his friend's past than anyone else and he understood his uncertainties. He hoped the idiot wouldn't bumble around and accidentally make the situation worse. "Angel-kun, you need to relax. If you keep reacting emotionally, you'll screw up and scare him off."

Tetsuhiro sighed again, "I know…"

Hiroto lightly punched him, "Then sound like it! I know you won't listen, but your insecurity will eventually drive him away. You've got to be patient, hear me!?" The brunette looked at his friend, startled and his expression cleared. He gave Hiroto his first genuine smile of the night.

"You're right, I'll try."

* * *

Hiroto wasn't surprised when two nights later; Souichi stomped in looking pissed off and tense. 'Here we go again!'

"Hiroto, I need a beer," he growled.

"Alright," he handed it over and smiled. "How's the research coming along?"

"Fine," he sighed. Hiroto couldn't help but think to himself that that was catching. "You've known Morinaga a long time, right?" he gave the bartender a sharp glare.

"Yep, since he was in school here. Why?"

"Could you please tell me why he's such a freak?" he muttered.

"You're going to have to give me more than that if you want an intelligent answer," Hiroto answered dryly. "I won't just gossip about him you know, not even to you."

Souichi thought hard for a few minutes, "He's been weird all week. More than normal, I mean. He comes in acting angry, and then later he seems sad. He won't talk to me unless it has to do with work. When I ask him what's wrong, he says it's nothing. It's so frustrating!" he ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up and half pulling it down.

"Let me ask you something; did you break things off with him?" Hiroto asked seriously.

Souichi looked startled, "Of course not! Work's gotten busy, that's all!"

"That's what I thought," the redhead grinned. "Tatsumi-sensei, you've managed to get involved with one very insecure person."

"Huh? He's one of the most confident people I've ever met!" he shook his head in confusion.

"In most areas of his life, that would be correct; however, when it comes to personal relationships it's a different story. The more serious the connection, the worse he gets. He acts overly needy, too pushy, and too demanding."

"I was wondering if the only thing he wanted was…" the blonde trailed off, too embarrassed to finish.

"…Your body?" Hiroto finished for him and then continued before he could deny it, "It's because of his past experiences. How much has he told you about his family?"

"Not much; I know a little about his brother, that they were estranged for years and finally made up. I know why they were estranged and what happened to reunite them. That's about it."

"He hasn't mentioned his parents?" Hiroto asked quietly.

"No, he hasn't," Souichi frowned. Now that he thought about it, it was kind of weird. The younger man knew just about everything there was to know about his family. Why hadn't he ever reciprocated? "Is that important?"

"Ask him to explain sometime. I'll say this much, he was raised very formally, traditionally; ya know? That coupled with his orientation caused quite a few insecurities to build up." He looked up to see Souichi leaning forward, intently listening to every word, "When he loves, it's at 100%, there's no room for anyone else in his life. Whenever there's a problem, he tries to solve it through physical contact rather than with words. That's the only way he knows how to express himself. Unfortunately it leads to the wrong impression. He smothers his partner until the partner pulls away and then he gets pushy, see? If he's trying to not push you, smother you, it's a sign that he's trying to have faith."

"Faith in what?" Souichi groaned, not wanting to get it.

"Faith that you aren't trying to break things off with him and using your research as an excuse to pull away," Hiroto was beginning to lose patience with them both.

The blonde wanted to get angry and argue with Hiroto, but the man made sense. He thought over their last conversation and every encounter they'd had this past week. He worked hard to see it from Morinaga's point of view. He sighed again, "Damn, he's a fool!"

"I won't deny that! Now what are you gonna do about it?" he questioningly cocked an eye at Tatsumi-san.

"It beats the fuck out of me."

* * *

Tetsuhiro was getting ready to turn in when he heard a knock at the front door. As he opened it, he saw Souichi leaning against the wall in the front entry. The younger man stood gaping until Souichi pushed away and approached him.

"Are you going to let me in?" he quietly asked the younger man as he advanced. When he was within inches of him, Tetsuhiro backed into the apartment and let the blonde enter. He was confused as to why Souichi was here. The older man had a seriously determined look in his eyes and the younger one was puzzled.

Souichi continued to advance until they were just about touching and he stopped while continuing to stare at the younger man, "Tell me one thing, and be honest: this week…have you been thinking I was…permanently stopping our…friendship?"

Tetsuhiro flushed, "Erm, yeah?"

The blonde closed his eyes and sighed, "You. Are. An. Idiot! If I was going to break ties that easily, I would never (and I mean never!) have started this with you in the first place," he glared.

"Well, with everything that's happened, I thought…" Tetsuhiro's voice faded away when he got a good look at his lover's face. Along with anger, the younger man saw something else in Souichi's eyes that stopped the words in his throat. The blonde reached out, wrapped a hand behind Tetsuhiro's neck and pulled him down for a tentative kiss. As they separated, the older man grabbed Morinaga's chin to make him meet his eyes.

"I didn't realize you had to have every little thing spelled out for you. I was telling you nothing more than the truth when I said we needed to cool it until the project was done. After that I knew we'd resume…our…thing."

"Thing, Sensei?" Morinaga was grinning, Souichi noticed and he seemed to have relaxed a little.

"Well affair is too strong and friendship is too weak; I don't know what else to call it!" he began to bluster as he tried to back away.

The younger man wrapped his hand into Souichi's hair and pulled him in close, "Don't leave yet, please. I want to hold you for a while," he whispered huskily.

"Riiiight, as if that's all you'd do," the older man muttered as he leaned in for another kiss. When they came up for air he continued, "Try not to worry too much; even if we can't meet as regularly as before, there will be time to be together even if it isn't always physical. There's got to be more to…this than just getting off! Sex isn't as important to me as it is to you. I mean it's great but there has got to be more and you better understand that! Ok?"

"I know…" Tetsuhiro began but Souichi quickly interrupted.

"No, you  **don't**! If you understood, I wouldn't have to be here reassuring you!" he snapped as he stepped away from his lover.

"I'm sorry," the younger man sighed. "Usually when someone tells me we need to cool things down, it's the beginning of the end. I assumed it was the same this time."

"Stop assuming! I'm not usual! I'm totally different from anyone you've ever been with so quit comparing and expecting the worst. I'm with you because I want to be. I don't understand  **why**  I want to and I'm not ready to try and figure it out, but I still want to! Don't make me regret it!" He'd grabbed Morinaga's shirt in his fists and gave the younger man a little shake to help make his point.

Tetsuhiro smiled as he watched his Sensei. The blonde was awkward and talking in circles, but at least he was making an effort and that was just what the younger man needed. He couldn't remember the last time someone had tried so hard for him. He was usually the one doing all the work. This was…nice and…refreshing.

"Ok, Sensei; I'll work on it," he smiled as his gaze roamed over the other man. He cupped Souichi's face and gently leaned in to kiss him. It was soft and sweet and Souichi's knees wanted to give way, so he grabbed ahold of Tetsuhiro's arms as they moved to wrap around his body and draw him in close. "Do you need to go to the lab tonight?" sounded softly in his ear as that idiot's mouth moved to his neck.

"N-not tonight, but I have to b-b-be in early tomorrow," Souichi stuttered and Tetsuhiro grinned as he met the blonde's eyes.

"Shall we go in together?"

 


	14. Chapter 13

The end of the summer term was fast approaching and Tetsuhiro was looking forward to a little quality time with Souichi. Even after things had settled down between them, their schedules had still become overly full. Class finals were approaching; and now that their research was concluded the two men had the joint paper to present at a conference the next month. Anyway what with one thing and another they hadn't been able to meet up regularly. And it was affecting both their moods. Both men were grumpy and easy to piss off now. Their students chalked the moodiness up to the paper they were writing and were looking forward to the conference's end so that their Sensei's would go back to normal.

One morning when Tetsuhiro made it to the office, he noticed an ominous air in the room. Souichi looked up, saw his assistant in the doorway and smiled a bit grimly. When Tetsuhiro got closer he realized his lover had left his hair down. "What's up Sensei? Do you have a headache?" Tetsuhiro walked behind Souichi's chair and began massaging his neck and shoulders. Souichi stiffened for a second, but Morinaga wasn't doing anything to get pissy about and it did feel good.

"I was getting one earlier, but it seems to have left," Souichi answered as he rubbed his temples and leaned into Tetsuhiro's hands. "I've got bad news.…" The hands paused for a moment and then went back to kneading his neck, "I have to cancel Friday night. Kanako asked me to attend a family meeting and I have to go. She and her salary man want to go over the wedding plans with us. Ugh!" he scrunched up his face to glare.

Tetsuhiro smiled as he continued his massage, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. Send Kanako my regards and congratulations. I hope she'll be very happy." The girl was one of his favorite people so he was sincere in his wishes.

"Yeah, yeah I will; What's up with you?….Why not get mad about me canceling and storm off to pout?"

"Sensei! I do not pout! Ever! You should be able to come over later, right…Saturday or Sunday?"

"Huh! You pout all the time, when you don't get your way. I should be able to and I'll call when I'm free. It's just when that group gets together things never turn out as planned!"

* * *

When Souichi got home Friday evening everyone had beaten him there. As he walked into the living room he had the weirdest sensation that he'd been the subject of the conversation.

"What?" he asked as he sighed. He had an idea what was coming.

"Who is she Souichi-kun?" Isogai spoke up. "Who's the mystery babe? Come on, you can tell us!"

"You're really too old to act cutesy," Souichi glared at his almost brother-in-law. "As if I'd introduce  **anyone**  to you bunch!"

"So there  **is**  someone you're seeing?" Tomoe eagerly asked while Mitsugu tried to shush him.

"Oh, shut up!" he snapped at his brother. "We're supposed to be here to discuss their wedding not my love life. If we aren't, I have somewhere else to be!" as he started to leave the room, Kanako grabbed his hand.

"Nii-san, ignore them! We are here to discuss the wedding; Tai's just bored with all this and has been speculating. However, we're curious about where you go every weekend."

"It's not every weekend…I've been here lately," Souichi sat down a bit grumpily. "I had to rearrange my plans because of this so let's get on with it already!"

Isogai sat up and got serious, "The main points are: First, the wedding will be held during spring break; that's when we can get the hall, the reception area, and time off. Second, it's going to be a Western style ceremony and," he shuddered dramatically, "it'll be formal. Third, Kanako wants your dad to give her away, but she's afraid he might not make it back in time. And finally, we need to know if there's anyone you guys want to invite that we might not know about; that's why we're here tonight. We need to get the invitations ordered and sent out."

"Why the need to rush sending out the invitations? The wedding will be nine months from now, there's plenty of time," Souichi really wanted the meeting over as soon as possible!

"Most wedding invitations are sent at least nine months out and we haven't even ordered ours!" Kanako looked as if her brother was a moron for not getting it immediately.

"Ok, so why have a formal wedding?" Souichi wanted to know. He hated tuxedos!

Isogai looked like he agreed with Souichi's sentiment, "Because Kanako wants it." As he looked at his fiancée it became apparent that he'd do just about anything she wanted.

The group settled down to hammer out the guest list and other details; and about an hour later an argument broke out. "You forgot to add Morinaga, Kanako," Souichi pointed out. "He's the only reason you guys are getting married in the first place."

"That's right, Nii-san! I can't believe I forgot him," Kanako looked embarrassed at her mistake.

"Morinaga? Mo..rin…aga…" Isogai recognized the name but couldn't place it for a moment. Then he remembered who he was, "Not on your life are we inviting that lothario to our wedding!"

And they were off! The other three men sat back and waited until the two combatants started to wind down; and then Souichi stepped in, "Kanako, don't tell me you still haven't filled Isogai in on all the details of that day?"

"She told me it was a setup she'd concocted with your assistant," Isogai answered for her. "However, he looked way too satisfied with himself for me to accept that it was all a fake! I swear he was hoping for a different outcome." Souichi had never seen Isogai like this; he was still jealous.

"Even if there's no way in hell he'd ever want her?" Souichi asked.

"What do you mean?" Isogai was pissed. "Who wouldn't want her? She's the most beautiful…incredible person in the world! Of course he wants her."

Souichi started to grin, and then he snorted. Before anyone could blink he was laughing almost hysterically. Kanako was grinning at her brother's reaction and everyone else looked stunned. They'd never seen him laugh like that!

"Umm, are you ok Souichi-kun?" Kurokawa asked tentatively.

"Ahh, yeah I'm fine," he answered as he wiped his eyes. "It's been a long time since I laughed like that," he smiled at his sister's fiancé. "Thanks, Isogai. However, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Morinaga prefers men to women. He really would never be interested in Kanako, it's not in his nature. That's why she thought he'd be a good choice to incite you…no possibility of complications."

It took a while for the older man to process what he'd just heard; then he turned to his fiancée, looked at her questioningly and she nodded. He flushed and abruptly stood up, "I think I'll go make some more coffee, be back in a minute."

Souichi watched Isogai leave and followed. He leaned against the door as he watched the other man, "You really love her, don't you?"

Isogai grunted, "You have to ask?"

"Not anymore. You've convinced me," Souichi replied.

"Look, Souichi-kun, I'm sorry about earlier but Kanako would really like to meet her," Isogai glanced over at the other man.

Souichi smiled grimly, "I should have moved out when I wanted to! That girl…why did I believe she wouldn't try to find out?" He sighed, "There's no chance we'll ever marry. Sooner or later it'll end; so why bring them into the family just to have it turn out like.…" He stopped abruptly and stalked back to the living room leaving the older man with a lot to think about.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had left, Taichirou recounted his and Souichi's conversation to Kanako. "I think he's afraid of it turning out like Wakana," he concluded.

"Someone he can never marry, hmm?" Kanako thought she knew who it was her brother had been seeing, and if she was correct, then they wouldn't be able to marry. "I wonder if I'm right," she muttered. When Taichirou looked at her questioningly she went on to explain, "I think Nii-san is seeing his assistant."

That surprised Isogai, "No way!"

"What's so impossible about it?" his fiancée demanded.

"After all the shit he gave Kurokawa and your brother, I can't see it," he thought a minute. "Hmm, Souichi-kun with a man…now that's…interesting," Tai began to smirk then chuckle. He quickly glanced over at Kanako, "Would it bother you to have another brother-in-law?"

"No, I like Morinaga-san! I wouldn't mind it in the least; he's a good person and if he loves Sou-kun that just about makes him a saint! And did you see how quickly Nii-san left tonight? Up until now, the only thing that could make him leave after midnight was a problem at the lab!"

He began to grin mischievously, "Which do you think is uke?"

Kanako thought a moment, "Morinaga is a sweet and gentle person but…I think it would have to be my brother. Souichi would never target a man so Morinaga-san would have to be the pursuer. ...Ok, I think I really grossed myself out!" She laughed at her imagination, "I'm so glad I'm out of the dating cycle…I love you."

As her fiancé took her in his arms he whispered, "Right back at ya darlin!"

* * *

Tetsuhiro practically ran to the door when the bell sounded, "Good evening Sensei!"

"Hey, am I too late tonight?" Souichi asked as he came in.

"You're never too late, love," the brunette smiled as he walked up to the blonde. "In fact, you don't have to call every time."

"Good," Souichi was in his arms before he could change his mind.

'Whoa!' the surprised man thought. "What's up?" he pushed him back slightly to look at his lover.

"Nothing…I couldn't wait until tomorrow?" he looked away, incredibly embarrassed and was blushing furiously.

'He's just so…cute!' the younger man couldn't help thinking.

"I'm glad you came over," whispered Tetsuhiro as he gently kissed him. "Shall we move into the bedroom?"

Souichi kissed him back, "How about the bathroom? I feel grungy!" he grinned at the younger man in front of him. Morinaga had been trying to talk him into taking a bath together and he'd been resistant up until now. 'Oh well…' was his last thought as Tetsuhiro whooped, picked him up fireman style and carried him to the tub.

"Idiot! What do you think you're doing?" the blonde grunted as he was put down and thoroughly kissed again.

"Taking advantage before you change your mind!" the idiot grinned as he had an idea. "Could you do me a favor?"

"What?" Souichi asked suspiciously as he tried to back away.

"Take my clothes off."

"Huh!?" he responded, disbelieving.

"Undress me; you know, strip me," Tetsuhiro's eyes danced as he watched Souichi's uncertainty. He sat down on the toilet, crossed his arms, and said, "Until you undress me, I'm not doing anything, so there!"

Souichi glared at the younger man, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he let it out, he walked up to his obstinate lover and looked down at him. "Stand up already. How can I do it like that?"

Tetsuhiro practically jumped up as he complied with Souichi's request. The blonde looked Morinaga up and down a couple times and then moved in to take off his shirt. It was a pullover so Souichi inched it up the younger man's body, slowly exposing his abdomen and chest. He suddenly had the insane urge to lick his pecs to a nipple and suck it. He wondered how Morinaga would react. 'Well he started this,' he thought as he put action to thought and he heard a sharply indrawn breath. He grinned and continued to move the shirt up as he licked and kissed along his lover's chest until it was partly up his arms and Tetsuhiro was trapped and moaning while Souichi sucked the base of his neck at the collarbone. When the blonde finished taking the shirt off he kissed Morinaga firmly on the mouth. Of course Tetsuhiro tried to take over but Souichi disengaged himself, "Nuh unh, you wanted this; let me finish."

"I hadn't expected… mmm…you to be this…ah…creative!" the younger man gasped.

Souichi smiled grimly as his hands went to Morinaga's waist and he began to remove his belt. Since the brunette was barefoot there weren't that many options, he didn't have all that much on. However the blonde was determined to carry on with disrobing his lover. As he unbuttoned and unzipped Tetsuhiro's jeans, he noticed how his erection was straining against the fabric, 'God, he's already hard!' Souichi unconsciously licked his lips and just about drove the watching Tetsuhiro over the edge. He pulled the pants down and Tetsuhiro used his lover's shoulders to balance on while he lifted each leg so Souichi could pull them off completely. He hesitated when he realized all that was left was the younger man's underwear. He looked at Tetsuhiro as he hooked his fingers into the waistband and tugged down. When he felt them slip past the younger man's erection he looked down. His mind went totally blank as he knelt down to finish pulling off the briefs and leaned in to kiss the tip of his member. Tetsuhiro groaned and abruptly sat back down on the toilet as Souichi continued to taste him. He licked along the shaft, from base to tip and hesitantly took the tip into his mouth. 'It's weird,' the thought popped into his mind just as Morinaga moaned again, 'but not too bad!' At that point he stopped thinking completely and concentrated on driving the younger man crazy.

Tetsuhiro was in heaven, this was more than he'd ever hoped for. His hand was tangled in Souichi's hair, cupping the back of his head. He wanted the blonde to move at his own speed but it took every last ounce of his control not to push his head down, or start thrusting into him. When Souichi began sliding up and down his shaft, and gave a small muffled moan of his own Tetsuhiro knew he wouldn't last much longer, "Ok, that's enough, stop!" He forced Souichi to let go and look at him.

His man looked at him with slightly unfocused eyes. As they cleared he asked, "Why, didn't you like it?"

"Oh shit, yes I liked it! Look at me, can't you tell?" When Souichi looked down he saw how hard Morinaga had become since he'd begun sucking him off. "But if you continued, there's no way I could have lasted and I thought maybe you might not want me to come in your mouth?"

Souichi hadn't thought that far ahead and a comical look of horror crossed his face when he realized what could have happened. Tetsuhiro couldn't help himself; he cracked up at his lover's expression. Souichi gave him a rather sour look as he stood up to undress as well. He didn't do anything seductive; just shed his clothes and put up his hair before he turned back around to glare at Morinaga. Tetsuhiro didn't care; he was enjoying the show anyway and still reeling from his lover's blow job.

"Shall we?" Tetsuhiro indicated the bath.

"Sure," Souichi tried to look casual but he was still a bit shy and stunned at his earlier behavior, 'What was I thinking? How could I get so in to it?'

Morinaga got in first. One of the main selling points of this particular apartment had been this bathroom. The tub was huge; more than adequate for two to bathe together. He waved Souichi over and indicated he wanted him to sit between his legs. Souichi looked like he wanted to do nothing more than run, but he climbed in instead. He leaned back against the younger man and sighed as he began to relax in the hot water.

Tetsuhiro ran his fingers along his lover's arms up to his neck. Then he started massaging down along his spine. Souichi leaned forward to allow him access, his touch felt so good. "Mmmm…"

"Nice isn't it," the younger man whispered as he continued to knead the stiff muscles. Souichi just nodded. Tetsuhiro got the soap and began to wash the other man's back. Of course when he finished that, he continued to his front and then down…

Souichi suddenly sat up when he felt where the sponge was rubbing, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Washing you," was the amused response.

"It's under water; it's not actually doing any good."

Tetsuhiro chuckled, "Oh yes it is!" Souichi was rock hard from his attention. The blonde turned to give him a pained look. "Let me finish cleaning you up and then let's get dirty again, ok? The water will wash away all the evidence and it'll feel really good!"

"You're a pervert through and through," Souichi retorted with a shake of his head but no real anger in his voice. The truth was he knew this would happen and had been looking forward to it, even though he wouldn't admit it to  **him**.

Tetsuhiro grinned as he lathered his bath sponge, "Can you get on your knees so I can wash you properly?" Souichi complied and was thoroughly soaped. First Tetsuhiro washed around his erection and around his balls then he slowly moved on down and around back to his entrance.

Souichi had begun moaning very quickly and was holding on to the sides of the tub for support when he felt the soap trailing along his crack to…"Mmph!"

The younger man licked his lips as he quickened his pace against that tight hole. When the blonde was soapy enough, the younger man inserted a finger, "I just want to make sure everything's clean before we begin, Souichi!"

"Bullshit! Ahh!"

"Feels good, huh?" he'd inserted two now and was massaging across his prostate. Souichi was beginning to see stars when Tetsuhiro decided he was ready. He steadied his lover as he guided him to sit back down, this time slowly impaling himself on the younger man's erection.

"Come on, Souichi," he had a hold on his hips, "Relax your hips a bit more and slide down me. Let the warmth of the water relax you."

"Eeee! How can I, ahhh…?" he exclaimed as he did just that. Once Tetsuhiro was completely inside, Souichi panted, "Ok…now what?"

"Try moving," Morinaga replied hoarsely.

Souichi made a good effort by holding on to the side of the tub and Tetsuhiro began thrusting up into him as well. The floor was well and truly swamped before they were finished, but by the time they came, they didn't really care. They half lay there, still connected until their breathing and heart rates returned to normal, Souichi somewhat cradled in Tetsuhiro's lap.

"That was good," sighed Tetsuhiro.

"Um hm."

"We need to get up."

"Yeah."

"You need to get up first," chuckled the younger man.

"…I know," Souichi wanted to snap but he was too relaxed. He pulled himself off his lover's shaft and ended kneeling in the tub again.

As the two men finished cleaning up and climbed out of the tub, Souichi asked, "How many more places do you want to do it in?"

"Do you mean here, at home? Or just in general?" Tetsuhiro asked with a mischievous grin.

"Here…" Souichi started, then he realized what he'd been asked, "Where else is there!?

 


	15. Chapter 14

When Souichi woke the next morning, it was to the sound of Morinaga working in the kitchen. As he lay there listening to the domestic sounds, he had to admit, he could get used to this, 'He really does spoil me….' He threw his arm across his face as he thought about the upcoming wedding and how curious everyone was about his "girlfriend." Souichi began to laugh softly to himself at the absurdity of the whole situation.

He finally decided to get up and made his way to the kitchen in time to fix the coffee for their breakfast, it was the only thing Morinaga would allow him to make once the younger man realized how incompetent his boss was in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sensei!" Tetsuhiro called out grinning.

"Ugh!" was the grumpy response he got this morning. As the coffee brewed Souichi filled Morinaga in on the previous night's meeting. "Anyway, it looks like I'm the stand-in to give the bride away if Dad can't make it back. Man, I hope he gets here in time; I don't want to wear a tux!"

Tetsuhiro laughed and then turned serious, "Personally, I'd love to see you in one." The younger man could completely imagine his lover after the wedding, coming out of said tux.

"Shut up! Stop with the perverted thoughts, it's too early for them." Souichi poured the coffee and removed himself to the dining table with Tetsuhiro following with the plates of food.

"How did you know my thoughts were perverted?"

"I could tell; you've no idea how easy it is to read your face!"

"I'll have to remember that," the younger man grinned. "So…if your dad does make it in time, will you…introduce us?"

"Of course, you're my assistant; why wouldn't I introduce you?" Souichi frowned, confused.

"Actually, I meant as something other than your assistant," Tetsuhiro responded gently.

"Uhh…oh…umm…I hadn't particularly thought about it?" the blonde blushed furiously.

Tetsuhiro sighed, he'd known the answer, "Well, its nine months away, there's time. I hope you will think about it…at least a little, Sensei," then he busied himself with breakfast and changed the subject.

Souichi grunted occasionally as he mulled over what the younger man had said. He knew he was being unfair to Morinaga, but he really didn't want his family to know about them. He wasn't sure where their "relationship" was going and until he figured it out he wanted to keep it to himself. He was convinced that two men together couldn't succeed; and his one relationship that should have lasted, failed miserably. 'How can I be sure he won't get fed up with me and leave, too?' That thought alone caused a pain to shoot through his heart and as he was beginning to give in to depression, the man in question recaptured his attention with a ridiculous question:

"Hey, Sensei! How about we run over to Tokyo and look around for a tuxedo you'll enjoy wearing?" Tetsuhiro was beginning to get excited; he  **really**  wanted to go shopping with Souichi.

"Are you kidding!? I don't want a tux at all, why would I go shopping for one now?" the blonde snapped.

"That's why you need to go now," Tetsuhiro explained patiently. "That way you have time to find the one that's just right for you. And I'll have the pleasure of your company and get to be the first one to see you in it! I can't do better than that," he leered unashamedly at his flustered lover.

"It's that important to you?" Souichi asked reluctantly. At the younger man's eager nod he capitulated, "Ok…but if we can't find anything I like, I want you to drop it and I'll rent one or something if I need to."

Tetsuhiro gave him a comically horrified look, "There's no way you're going to rent one! No one looks good in a rental; you'd end up looking like a clown."

"That's why I don't like them! No one ever looks good in them!" Souichi gave him a frustrated look. The idiot wasn't going to let it go, he could tell.

"And that's why we're going shopping!" Tetsuhiro jumped up to clear the table, "Go ahead and get ready, Sensei; that way we'll have most of the day to enjoy the city!" As Souichi got up and headed for the bedroom, Morinaga called out, "And don't forget to let Kanako know you'll be out of town today."

"I'm on it, I'm on it," Souichi already had his cell out to do just that.

* * *

The car ride into the city was uneventful; the two discussed/argued how to handle the conference presentation the whole trip. Souichi was surprised when they parked in front of a very attractive building. You wouldn't know it was a clothing store just to look at it…there was no signage or obvious parking area. It looked just like any upscale office building.

"This place has the best clothes, I always shop here," Tetsuhiro explained to his boss as they got out and went inside.

Souichi was surprised when the salesperson called his assistant "Morinaga-sama." The younger man made it easy for the blonde to forget that he was well off. It was at times like this that the differences in their social standing became apparent.

'He was right about one thing, though…this place has fantastic clothes!' he thought as he looked around while Morinaga chatted with the clerk. The shop had a terrific selection of clothes from knockabout casual to opera formal. The only drawback was there were no price tags, 'I won't be able to afford anything here!'

Once he began trying on the suits offered his eyes widened in surprise. These looked… fabulous! He never thought formal wear could be so…gorgeous.

"You're going to outshine the bride," Tetsuhiro grinned appreciatively.

"They're lovely," he turned to look in the mirror at the current option; a light charcoal gray that skimmed across his shoulders and down to nip in slightly at his waist. It was made from some sort of soft shimmering material and fit him like a glove. "But if the prices aren't even listed, I'll have to take out a loan to afford any of them."

"Well, tell you what…" Tetsuhiro paused as he thought how to phrase it, "since you didn't tell me about your birthday until it was too late, and you wouldn't let me give anything for Christmas, let this be my gift to you."

"You're nuts! I didn't give you anything either. No, I can't do that!" when he stalked back to the dressing room to change, the younger man pulled the salesclerk aside and quickly finished the transaction. The man had already taken all the measurements necessary so the alterations could be done without Souichi's knowledge and the suit would be sent directly to Kanako's apartment, addressed to her. Tetsuhiro knew how to be sneaky when he wanted something…and he wanted to see Souichi looking, and feeling, his best at the wedding. He figured he'd get punched when his lover realized what he'd done, but he hoped Souichi wouldn't let his pride get in the way too much.

As they were leaving the shop the two began discussing lunch options, "Since you dragged me into the city for the day, let's go eat at one of my favorite places," Souichi began.

"Sounds great! Are you buying?" Tetsuhiro grinned.

The blonde glared and answered, "We'll split the check."

As they were being seated, a voice caught their attention, "Tetsuhiro? Is that you, Tetsuhiro?" When Souichi turned to look at the voice's owner he saw a slim blonde man. He was almost Souichi's height with gray eyes and shoulder length hair. He was…sexy was the first word to pop into Souichi's mind.

"Masaki-san, is that you?" Tetsuhiro looked pleasantly surprised. As the two men hugged he asked, "Is Nii-san with you?"

"Yeah," Masaki grinned at the younger man. "He'll be here shortly. Are you going to introduce us?" and he nodded at the now-glaring Souichi.

"Oh! Sure," he hurriedly made the introductions. "Tatsumi-sensei is my professor at the university. We've been feeling the end of semester stress too much so we came into town for a break. What are you guys here for?"

"We're looking for a place to live. Kunihiro got transferred recently and I just got hired at a bar in Shinjuku."

Morinaga looked at him sharply, "You're not a host are you?"

Masaki laughed, "Nah, bartender. Kunihiro would kill me if I tried that!"

About then another man walked up. He wore glasses and had short light brown hair and… Morinaga's eyes; Souichi noticed that right away.

"Nii-san, it's great to see you!" Morinaga introduced Souichi to his brother quickly as the maître'd walked up to seat the other couple. "If you guys are looking for a place to live, why not take over my apartment? I'm in Nagoya now and don't really need it anymore. It'd be great if you could take it off my hands."

The other two men looked at each other and Kunihiro nodded, "It's probably out of our price range, but if we could see it…we'll see."

Tetsuhiro took out his keys and wrote down the address, "Take a look and let me know."

As the brunette and Souichi were seated, the blonde spoke, "So that's Masaki, huh? Are he and your brother together?"

"Yep, they've been living together for about five years now," Tetsuhiro glanced over at the other couple with a frankly doting expression on his face.

Souichi noticed, "And you're ok with that? It doesn't bother you?"

Tetsuhiro smiled at the older man, "It doesn't anymore. I got over it long ago, why?"

The blonde blushed, "No reason! It's just that I got the impression from what you said earlier that the whole incident was very traumatic for you. I'm not sure I could have forgiven either of them if it had been me."

Tetsuhiro faced his lover with an incredibly intense gaze and Souichi swallowed…hard, "Thank you, Sensei. I love you," he added softly.

The blonde looked away and cleared his throat, "Don't mention it. You never talk about your parents…how'd they handle everything?" he decided they needed to change the subject and since his talk with Hiroto, he'd been dying to know the whole story.

Tetsuhiro sighed, "They didn't handle it well at all. That's why I ended up going to university in Nagoya. They told me that they'd put me through college if I'd go to one outside the prefecture." He fell silent as he thought back over that time. Souichi didn't want to interrupt him, so he waited. "I think they believed if I was away from them the rumors and stories about me would die down. I suppose they also assumed I would grow out of the "phase" I was going through. Of course that was idiotic, and they finally accepted that. On graduation day I received an envelope containing a current family register; and I was no longer on it. They'd struck me off." He said it very simply but it shocked Souichi to his core. "I bet they were kicking themselves when I hit it big less than two years later!" he had a somewhat evil grin on his face as he said that.

"What do you mean? They disowned you!?" the blonde asked quietly, but he was boiling inside. How dare those assholes do that to their son! Souichi hadn't imagined that any parents could be so…cruel over something that couldn't be helped. Tetsuhiro just smiled sadly as he nodded. "How did they react to your brother hooking up with a guy; and the same one no less?"

"I don't know. I've never tried to find out. When we meet up we don't discuss them," he shrugged. "They died for me six years ago and no longer matter. Who knows, one day I may have a family of my own…a real one. If that could happen, I'd be happy." At that point the younger man changed the subject and refused to be led back to it. Souichi had no choice but to drop it as well.

* * *

Across the restaurant, Masaki was watching the other two, "Do you think they're together?"

Kunihiro glanced over at his brother, "Beats me, but if they're good for each other, I hope so. My little brother has a way of choosing lovers I don't understand at times!"

Masaki glared at the big idiot across from him, "Thanks for that!"

Kunihiro looked startled and then grinned as he reached across the table for his lover's hand, "Sorry, but you have to admit I'm right…you're good for me, not him."

"I'll never understand you!" Masaki answered, blushing. "Are you going to tell Tetsuhiro about your dad?" he changed the subject.

Kunihiro hesitated for a bit, "No, I don't think so. He's moved on and made a life for himself. I don't want to drag him back in to all that."

"But don't you think he might want to know while there's still time? Your dad wants to see him, right? If you don't let Tetsuhiro know and he finds out later…how will it affect  **your**  relationship? It might wreck what you two have now!"

"It might," Kunihiro agreed reluctantly. "I'll think about it."

 


	16. Chapter 15

A few days later, after class let out, Tetsuhiro received a phone call from his brother asking him to meet for dinner. Souichi had already left for home to spend some time with his sister so the brunette was free. As he arrived at the restaurant he saw Kunihiro waiting for him; he was alone.

"Hello, Nii-san," he smiled as he was seated at the table. "Did you get a chance to check out the apartment?"

"Yeah, there's no way we could buy that place! Our income is nowhere near as large as yours," he looked incredibly exasperated at the younger man.

"Then rent it from me," Tetsuhiro countered, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Name a reasonable sum and that'll be your rent, jeez. At least let me help you until you can afford to buy a place of your own. This'll help me too, you know. I'll have someone I trust taking care of the place."

Kunihiro paused to consider the offer, "I'll talk it over with Masaki and then we'll get back with you." The waiter walked up at that moment to take their orders. After that was out of the way and their drinks had been delivered he continued slowly, "That wasn't the only reason I wanted to see you tonight. I need to talk to you about Dad."

Tetsuhiro sat back and glared, "What's he done now?"

* * *

After dinner, Souichi and Kanako decided to go out for a drink and wound up at Adamsite. It had been a while since Kanako had been there and she wanted Hiroto to see her ring. Fortunately it wasn't a very busy night and the three were able to catch up with each other. Souichi was still reeling from Morinaga's revelations over the weekend and he wanted to get the bartender's take on the mess.

While Kanako was showing off her ring and being congratulated by the regulars Souichi leaned in to ask, "Hiroto, how much do you know about Morinaga's family situation?"

The bartender raised his eyebrows, "Now you know I won't gossip about all that!"

The blonde shook his head, "That's not what I mean. You knew him when he was attending university, right? How did he handle the whole mess with his parents?" He looked so worried Hiroto decided to answer.

"Did he tell you about it?" When Souichi nodded he continued, "On graduation day he came in here, sat at the bar, and started drinking. I finally had to cut him off…I was afraid he'd get alcohol poisoning. He smiled, rather sweetly, at me and stood up…and then slid to the ground, completely smashed. One of the other bartenders helped me get him home and after I put him to bed I saw the envelope. I was curious so I glanced at what was inside. After I realized what it was and what it meant, I stayed the night to make sure he'd be alright." He shook his head sadly, "I'd never seen him like that before and I hope I never see him like that again."

Souichi nodded, "I don't understand it! I can identify with being upset over his orientation, that would be a shock for any parent; but…the rest…I don't get it." He was furious at the elder Morinaga's and hurting for his Morinaga and what he'd been through.

Hiroto smiled at the expression on the other man's face. He looked so incredibly adorable, for the first time the redhead understood his friend's feelings for the cranky blonde. "Angel-kun isn't one to let that keep him down for long; he's incredibly strong and forgiving. You don't need to worry about him cracking."

Souichi blushed, "Who's worrying!? I don't like injustice and he was treated very unfairly!"

About then Kanako returned and her brother's cell started ringing. As Souichi answered it he noticed it was from his assistant, "Morinaga, what's up? Huh?" When they heard the name, both Hiroto and Kanako tuned in to his side of the conversation. "Where are you right now? Uh huh, umm hmm, I see. Ok, I'll be right there…I'm not too far from your place. Don't worry about it, give me half an hour? Will you be alright for that long?" he listened and nodded to himself. "Good, I'll see you in a bit. Bye."

He turned to his sister, "Can you take a taxi home? I need to go…" he paid their tab and started to leave.

"Of course, Nii-san, but what happened? Is Morinaga-san ok?" Kanako grabbed her brother's sleeve to get his attention.

"I'm not sure what happened exactly. It's a family matter," he added as he glanced at Hiroto meaningfully. "I can't talk now, I've got to go!"

As he stormed out of the bar his sister looked at the bartender with a small smile, "That's a first! I've never seen him run when called by anyone except me or Tomoe, and sometimes not even then."

Hiroto returned her grin, "Well, I've never heard of Angel-kun asking anyone for help either. This could be…fun!"

* * *

When Souichi walked into the darkened apartment, he saw Morinaga outside on the patio. For a second the blonde was struck by how lonely the younger man looked but he shook the impression off and went to him.

"Mori…" he stopped when he saw the younger man had been crying. "Morinaga, what happened?" Tetsuhiro didn't answer; he just reached out blindly and hugged Souichi to him. Souichi stiffened until he realized he could feel his assistant shaking, and then he tightened his grip on the younger man until Tetsuhiro calmed down. Souichi began to run is fingers through the soft brown hair as his lover buried his face in his neck. "Can you tell me about it?" he asked quietly. When Morinaga nodded, the older man stepped back and tugged him toward the apartment. "Then let's go inside, ok?"

Once inside, they ended up in the office; Tetsuhiro pulled Souichi down onto the sofa with him so he was seated back to front in his lap, "Hey!"

"Just let me share your warmth for a while," Morinaga whispered into the blonde's ear. Souichi glared over his shoulder at him but capitulated and relaxed into the younger man's embrace.

"Fine, but don't use this as a chance to start something!" he snapped a little desperately; he was beginning to get turned on and he knew this was NOT the time.

Tetsuhiro chuckled quietly, "I'll behave…" Souichi turned slightly so he could see the younger man's face.

"What happened?"

"I received a call from my brother after you left school today. We went and had dinner. I think he's going to rent my apartment, by the way!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's great; what else?" the blonde knew there was more so he waited as patiently as he could.

Tetsuhiro got a better grip on the man in his arms and finished in a rush, "He told me our father has been sick; they don't know how much longer he has…and he wants to see me." The final part was said in a painful whisper.

Souichi turned and asked quietly, "What are you going to do? Do you want to see him?"

"Honestly I  **don't**  want to! But…if Kunihiro is right, I might not get another chance," he sighed.

"If it were me, I'd go and cuss the old bastard out! Then I'd deck him and leave," Souichi advised with relish while Tetsuhiro chuckled at the mental images. "Whatever you do or say, it should be said now or you might not get another chance," the older man continued seriously. "I wouldn't wait until it's too late to do anything, you know?"

Tetsuhiro nodded, "If I go I need to right away, so I'll miss some school…"

"Since it's like this, the department can handle your classes and labs for a few days. Don't worry about it. The rest of us…will cover…for you," Souichi began to lose his focus when Morinaga began to nibble along his ear. "We're supposed to…ah…be having a conver…um…sation, here," Tetsuhiro's hands had begun to roam while the blonde was speaking.

"Conversation over," Tetsuhiro said as he got down to some serious necking, "If I'm leaving town tomorrow I want to spend tonight with you, Sensei!"

Souichi rolled his eyes, "Moron! You'll be able to sleep on the train, I on the other hand will have to…mmph!" he tried to argue as he was seized and kissed soundly. "Ha, damn it…can we at least move to a more comfortable location?" was all he said after they came up for air. He realized he wanted this too; he didn't want to fight it anymore.

Tetsuhiro grinned and pulled the blonde up off the couch then guided them into the bedroom. When the younger man tried to push him onto the bed, Souichi managed to end up on top. Morinaga's eyes widened as his lover straddled him and began removing his shirt, "This is a bit unusual for you, Sensei!"

Souichi grinned, "Different isn't bad is it?" When Tetsuhiro quickly shook his head, the other man chuckled and ran his fingers down the brunette's now-bared chest. His tongue quickly followed as it found and began teasing a nipple while his hands moved along to Morinaga's pants. They were beginning to look uncomfortable so he obliged the younger man by unfastening them and releasing him from the confining garment.

Tetsuhiro was enjoying the attention until he realized their positions had been reversed, "Um…Sensei? Are you sure about this?"

"What? Aren't you enjoying it?" the blonde looked positively wicked as he slowly stroked the younger man's shaft with his hand.

"No-o-o-o…this is good," he panted. "But aren't you…umm…being more aggressive than usual?"

"Yeah, so what? Just shut up, lay back…and let me spoil you a little," he smiled. "I want you to remember tonight while you're out of town. Maybe it'll help keep you from doing anything stupid!"

"As if I'd…mmm!" Souichi had taken him in his mouth. Tetsuhiro couldn't believe how much his lover was getting in to it. The blonde was watching Morinaga as he began to lick along the underside of his shaft, from base to tip, then he licked across the tip of the head and as he began to draw him into his mouth, he sucked slightly and the younger man bucked into his mouth. It shocked Souichi enough to make him jump back a bit.

"Sensei, I'm sorry! I couldn't help…ahhh!" Souichi took a firmer grip on Tetsuhiro's hips and, with an impish gleam in his eyes, repositioned himself and slowly, so slowly, began sliding along Morinaga's erection; sucking it back into his mouth. As the younger man's cries became more intense, he began moving quicker along the pulsing shaft. Souichi knew his lover was close so he quickened his pace and held on until, with a few gasps, Morinaga came into his mouth. He remembered to swallow and managed to keep from gagging…barely. As Tetsuhiro started to calm down, he grabbed the blonde and drew him up to see his face. "Another first for you?" he asked with amusement.

"Of course!" Souichi tried to look insulted, but instead he actually looked quite satisfied with himself. Ever since the first time he'd tried to suck the younger man off, he'd wanted to follow through to the end, and now he had and it wasn't…so…bad.

"Good, now it's my turn," Tetsuhiro whispered as he trapped the blonde and began removing his clothes.

"Don't rip my shirt, moron!" Souichi snapped as he tried to slow his lover down. Morinaga ignored him and continued to work quickly.

"If I ruin it, I'll replace it…promise," he replied huskily. Once he began assaulting Souichi's sensitive areas, the older man quickly lost all sense of time.

"Just don't…ahhh!" Tetsuhiro began playing with the blonde's nipples as he moved down his body. "Mmm," Souichi began to wiggle, "not there!" Morinaga was tickling his belly button with his tongue.

He grinned, "Where then? Where do you want me to concentrate next?" Souichi looked at him in surprise. The younger man sat up and began running a hand over his lover's body as he asked, "What do you want me to do to please you?" When Souichi began to look confused he continued, "What can I do to drive you wild? Would you like me to kiss you here?" he stroked along an ear; "Or here?" his hand moved across each of Souichi's nipples and the older man groaned; "Or here?" as his hand wandered to the other man's groin.

Souichi looked through half-lidded eyes and licked his lips. "Go a little lower…" when he whispered his order he spread his legs further apart while he kept an eye on the younger man.

Tetsuhiro thought he was going to explode when he heard that whisper, "Your wish is my command," was all he said as he got busy. He maintained a steady rhythm with one hand on Souichi's erection while he moistened his fingers and began rubbing against his entrance with the other. Souichi quickly surrendered to his attentiveness as his mind completely shut down and his body took over. While Morinaga worked to relax him, he unconsciously worked at it as well and he was ready in no time.

When Tetsuhiro repositioned himself and moved Souichi's legs to his shoulders, the blonde muttered, "Hurry!" That was all the encouragement the younger man needed and he fiercely plunged into his lover, halting when Souichi gripped him with a groan. Both men took deep breaths and Souichi slowly relaxed again and bit out, "Move…" so Morinaga did. He set a quick tempo to his thrusts, burying himself as deeply as he could in that lovely ass. Souichi was writhing, grabbing onto the sheets as he arched into the younger man's movements. His legs moved from Morinaga's shoulders to loosely hook around his hips and the younger man fell forward onto his hands as he continued to thrust into his lover. Souichi was so close now to completion that he began shaking and he hooked his arms around Tetsuhiro's shoulders as he thrust up to hurry it along. The younger man quickened his pace and Souichi cried out when he came. As Tetsuhiro felt that wonderfully familiar kneading sensation along his shaft, he planted himself in as far as possible and let fly, shooting his load deep into his lover.

They lay there, panting; arms wrapped around each other and legs tangled together as they calmed down and relished the aftermath of their efforts. When Tetsuhiro pulled out he rolled off Souichi and pulled the blonde close to cuddle. The older man was fine with the close contact; he didn't want to move anyway.

"Mori…" the younger man heard his lover grunt, "how long do you think you'll be gone for?"

Tetsuhiro smiled at Souichi's tone, it sounded a bit lost to him, "I'll know better once I'm there. Hopefully it won't take too long."

"Hmm, do what you must and then come home…" was his reply as he drifted off to sleep.

Tetsuhiro kissed the top of the blonde head, "I will, I'll come home soon."

 


	17. Chapter 16

When Tetsuhiro arrived in Kyushu, Masaki was waiting for him. The younger man hadn't known what to expect, but this wasn't it.

"Masaki-san, what on earth…?"

"Kunihiro couldn't leave the hospital, so he asked me to come for you," Masaki smiled ruefully. "Otherwise he would have picked you up himself."

"I see, so how bad is my father's condition?"

"You'll see when you get there…" Masaki didn't want to talk about it.

"No! I want to know what I'm walking in to!" Tetsuhiro stopped with his arms crossed, ready to wait all day if necessary.

"God, you're still so stubborn!" Masaki muttered. "It's not good. He needs surgery but has put it off until he could see you. His odds aren't good and he wanted to see you before it's too late."

"Why?" Tetsuhiro frowned.

"I hope it's to ask for forgiveness, but he hasn't said…" Masaki could only shrug.

"Huh, I doubt it; but let's go," Tetsuhiro answered grimly.

When they reached the hospital room, Kunihiro was waiting for them. "It's about time, what took you so long?"

"We decided to go sightseeing," Tetsuhiro snapped back. "I got here as soon as I could! Where's Mother?" he asked glancing around.

"At home," was his reply.

"I thought she'd be here to protect the old man from 'catching my disease.' That's what she called it before."

"Things have changed," Kunihiro sighed. "I told them about myself and Masaki before Dad went into the hospital this last time. It seemed like the right time to do it. Mom decided to blame everything on Masaki," he and Tetsuhiro glanced at the blonde. Masaki grinned back at them both.

"Don't worry about me, I can handle it!" he laughed off their concern.

"But it isn't his fault, well at least as far as I'm concerned," Tetsuhiro returned. "It's not fair to blame anyone!"

"That's how Mom is; she's not good at facing reality. Anyway that's when Dad said he wanted to see you. He understands and isn't blaming anyone anymore. I think he just wants to reconnect with you; at least I hope so."

"Yeah, well let's get this over with," Tetsuhiro sighed as he headed into the hospital room after his brother. When he got a look at the man in the bed, he couldn't help but be shocked. His father…had changed. His hair had gone completely white and he was…old. Tetsuhiro knew how many years it had been since he'd seen his old man, but this was different. His father looked up at him as he drew closer and smiled tiredly. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello Tetsuhiro," he sighed, "it's good to see you." He obviously wanted to sit up and both younger men helped him to get resettled in the bed. Tetsuhiro noticed he was on oxygen and seemed to get winded very easily.

"Don't push yourself too much," he worriedly encouraged his father who tried to grin at him.

"It's alright son. I know I'm on a downhill slide here. Its ok, whatever happens Friday."

"Friday?"

Kunihiro answered, "That's when his surgery's scheduled." The younger man nodded absently as he watched the man in the bed.

"Why am I here, Dad?" he asked softly as he sat down beside him. He didn't hear Kunihiro leave the room, his focus was completely on his father.

"I know I'm being very selfish right now. After everything that happened I absolutely have no right to ask you to be here, but I'm glad you came," he paused to catch his breath. "I wanted a chance to talk to you before it was too late."

"You don't know it's too late…everything will be…fine…I…know," he ran down as he saw the look on his father's face.

"Don't lie to yourself. My chances aren't good and I know it. I'm prepared for whatever happens. If I make it through the surgery, I could just as easily wind up a vegetable as be able to run a marathon," he paused. "No, my chances are better to end up a vegetable," he sighed. He then spent a few moments thoroughly looking at his son with a small smile. It seemed to Tetsuhiro as if he wanted to memorize every detail.

"You grew up beautifully, you know. I'm glad. I wanted to apologize, even though I know I've no right to. I'm sorry, son. I screwed up; my pride wouldn't allow me to accept it…to accept you."

Tetsuhiro had waited to hear those words for so long. He'd convinced himself it was an impossible dream and at the moment he was torn to be hearing the apology. He was still bitterly angry over the past decade of dismissal from this man. Yet his heart ached for him. He wanted to scream at him and embrace him at the same time. He didn't know what to do so he stayed silent and waited. When his father caught his breath again he continued.

"I was too tied into my hopes for you. I couldn't see that you were your own person, only that you were a part of me and should behave the way I'd-we'd, raised you. I was a fool. If you can't forgive me, it's fine. I just wanted you to know I've," he chuckled, "grown up…finally."

* * *

Souichi was finishing up the day's work when Kanako peeked into the office, "Nii-san, are you free? I thought we'd go grab some dinner together."

He looked up and smiled, "Give me ten more minutes and I'll be ready to leave."

She plopped down at Morinaga's desk to wait for him, "How was Morinaga-san last night?"

"Hmm?" Souichi was preoccupied and not paying much attention. "He was as good as could be expected. He left this morning to visit his family. His old man's in the hospital and it isn't good."

"Why didn't you say something about that yesterday!? I would have come too!" she was so annoyed with her brother; he could be so…unaware sometimes!

"I didn't know what was going on until I got home yesterday, so how could I tell you?" he snapped back. "He didn't give me any details over the phone. He only said he needed to see me."

Kanako was about to retort when she realized what he'd just said, "So, Nii-san…is home with him now?"

Souichi stopped what he'd been doing and flushed as he looked at her, "What on earth are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?"

"You said it yourself, 'I didn't know until I got home yesterday;' so is home with him now?" she practically held her breath while she waited for his answer.

The color drained from his face as he thought about it and then a fierce blush flooded his face. He finally snapped, "I don't know what you mean, Kanako! My tongue slipped, that's all."

"Liar," she snapped right back at him. "Even if you can't bring yourself to talk to me, you should at least be honest with yourself. You're in love with him and you're worried about him. You spent last night there again; you've been doing it more and more often. Most of your clothes are over there now; they certainly aren't at my place anymore. You've got to quit dithering and take a stand already! Nii-san, do you care for him at all?"

"Of course I care about him, he's an important friend to me," he blustered.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"Maybe so but…" he ran his hands through his hair, yanking it down. "What if it ends?" he looked down at his work on the desk. "If I give in and dive into a real relationship with him and it ends, there won't be anything left of me." He quickly looked at his sister and she could see real fear there, "He's the only person I've ever felt this way about, this strongly about. I'm scared that it won't last…and just about as scared that it will!"

Kanako sighed as she walked around the desk and put her arms around her brother's shoulders to hug him, "Well, I can't blame you there. When you completely fall for someone, it's terrifying. Even more so for you, huh?" she looked down at his head as he reluctantly nodded.

"Kanako, he's a man for crying out loud! What am I supposed to do with that?" he hugged her back and then pulled away to look at her.

She grinned, "Are you happy?" When he slowly nodded again she continued, "Go with that feeling, Nii-san. I will guarantee you one thing: if you can't completely accept him, one day he  **will**  leave you. Anyone would eventually. At least by diving in and going for it, you stand a chance to make it work," she looked down at him.

She heard him mutter, "I'm not good with working at relationships," and sighed.

"Then let him go," he looked at her sharply as she walked over to a chair to sit down. "It's simple Nii-san, either make it work or let him go."

* * *

When the two siblings got home, it looked like it had snowed boxes at their front door. They were stacked up taller than Souichi, "Looks like the wedding presents have begun to arrive," he commented dryly as he helped her carry them all inside.

"Yeah," Kanako looked bewildered as she began to sort through them all. "Here's one from Morinaga-san! Why did he mail it?"

Souichi looked at the box and recognized where it came from, "Shit! What was he thinking?"

Kanako took one look at her brother and ripped open the packaging. There was a note on top of the tissue and she grabbed it while Souichi grabbed the box to make sure it was what he thought it was.

**Dear Kanako-chan!**

**I know this isn't a typical gift for the bride but bear with me. Sensei absolutely shot down the idea of me giving this to him as a gift, so I'm giving it to you. I hope you can talk some sense in to him and get him to wear it to the wedding. He's too stubborn for words and doesn't get that I just want him to feel good (and look terrific!) on the most important day of your life! He actually said he'd rent one if he had to! How hopeless is** **_that_ ** **!? Anyway, congratulations, I can hardly wait until the big day.**

**Love,**

**Tetsuhiro**

Kanako hurried to take the box back while Souichi stood and growled out what he was going to do to the idiot once he got his hands back on him again. When she saw the suit, she gasped and unpacked it. It was perfect! Her eyes shown as she handed Morinaga's note to her brother, "Here, read it and then try this on, I want to see you in it!" When it looked like he wanted to argue, she shoved him and the box into his bedroom, "And don't come out until it's on!"

Souichi threw the box onto the floor and sat down to read the note. "I'm too stubborn!? Right back at you moron!" he huffed as he pulled the tux out and laid it on his bed. It was gorgeous and would be perfect, but…. "Quit trying to pull a fast one on me idiot!"

About twenty minutes later, Souichi finally came out, fully dressed and scowling to model for his sister. "He was soooo right, Nii-san! It's perfect and you look perfect in it…well except for the frown. Don't wear  **that**  at my wedding, no sour looks allowed!" She looked so happy, Souichi couldn't stay mad…much and he reluctantly smiled.

"It works, huh?"

"Perfectly! I owe him big for this," she sighed and hugged her brother.

'So do I,' he thought mutinously.

* * *

Souichi still hadn't heard anything from his assistant by Thursday afternoon so he decided to check up on him. He'd only been able to reach the younger man's voice mail all week and wasn't hopeful he'd be any luckier this time, but Morinaga surprised him and answered after the second ring.

"Hey, Sensei; how's it going at school?"

The blonde thought he sounded tired, "Fine, how is everything with you? Is your family giving you any shit?" he heard a chuckle on the other end of the line.

"No, everything's been pretty shit-less so far. Kunihiro and Masaki are both here too. We're leaning on each other and taking hospital duty in shifts. My mother still hasn't made an appearance, but Dad and I have talked."

"Did it go well?" Souichi wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Better than expected," was the soft reply.

"Good…. Uh, do you know when you'll be able to return? I know the timing's lousy but I need to know how to arrange the next week or so."

"I'm sorry, of course you do! I'm not thinking too well right now. His surgery is tomorrow; depending on how it turns out, I could be here another week, maybe less. No one is sure how it'll go and he's not in good shape; he might not survive it."

Souichi's throat wanted to close up, Morinaga sounded so…lost. It was as if a part of him was dying along with his father. Souichi knew how that felt; he'd gone through it when his mother passed. It wasn't something Morinaga needed to deal with by himself and the older man had no confidence in the younger one's family being there for him.

"Morinaga…I'm done with classes for the week. Would it be alright with you if I came out there for the weekend?" he cringed when he heard himself ask the question.

"Could you?" Tetsuhiro asked softly. "I didn't want to ask, but if you could…I need you," Souichi almost missed the last part; it came over the line in a whisper.

"Baka! I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to! I'll be there first thing in the morning. Don't worry about meeting me, I'll find the hospital and meet you there."

"Ok," the younger man gave Souichi directions on how to get to the waiting room they'd be in. "I've missed you, Sensei."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Try to get some rest, you sound exhausted."

"I'll do my best."

* * *

Souichi arrived at the hospital before noon. He knew he'd done his best as he headed for Morinaga, but he was impatient; he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong and he couldn't get there fast enough. The blonde found the right elevator and got on just ahead of an older woman. He held the door as she entered. He wasn't noticing much but he got the impression of absolute frigidity rolling off her. He was glad when the doors opened and he could hurry away, he'd felt icicles forming. When he reached the waiting room, his lover was all he could see.

Morinaga was staring out a window at the end of the room. His hands were shoved in his pants pockets, his hair was mussy and his clothes were wrinkled. He looked like he'd slept in one of the chairs the waiting room offered. He also radiated a tightly controlled grief that scared Souichi shitless.

The blonde dropped his bag by the door and headed straight for his lover. The younger man didn't see him coming; he was so mired in his own thoughts. Tetsuhiro jumped when he felt Souichi's arms wrap around him and hold him tightly.

"Sensei?" he looked over his shoulder to be sure and Souichi's hands tightened their grip on him.

"Of course, who else?" he buried his face against Morinaga's back and breathed his scent in. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed the idiot until he was holding him.

"Well, isn't this cozy," the snide remark came from the door to the waiting room. Souichi felt Morinaga stiffen and they both turned toward the voice. It was the woman Souichi had noticed on the elevator; she was standing there letting her eyes rake over the men in the room. The blonde finally recognized the other two sitting in a corner as Morinaga's brother and his lover.

The woman continued as she strolled in, "What a disgusting sight to walk in on! Do you think it possible to get a room to maul each other in, rather than showing off in public, Tetsuhiro?"

Souichi glared at her through narrowed eyes and heard the younger man hiss as if he'd been slapped, and mutter, "Mother." The blonde whipped his head around to look at Morinaga and then back at the viper in front of them.

She was continuing to rant at the other two men now. As Souichi listened to the hate spewing from the woman's mouth, his vision went white for a moment. When it cleared, she was looking at him in shock, he was right in front of her and standing between her and his assistant while Morinaga's hands were gripping his shoulders to keep him from moving any closer. He heard himself saying, "Shut the fuck up! Who the hell do you think you are to come in here and spout such garbage? And don't tell me you have the right because these two happen to have you for half their genetic material!"

"Genetic material?" she screeched. "I'm their mother!"

"As I said, genetically yes; but you have no right to use that term in their presence. You are beyond a lousy excuse for a parent! How dare you address either of them the way you did? Mother!? Don't make me laugh!" he'd never been angrier, he was shaking so hard it looked like he was caught in a windstorm. "You wouldn't know how to be a mother if it came up and bit you on the ass!"

The scene in the waiting room had caused a stir and several nurses and a couple security guards came running to see what was going on. The nursing staff had gotten to know the Morinaga brothers and Masaki very well while their father had been in the hospital. They'd never seen either the new blonde or the woman but it was clear from the conversation that it was a family matter. However they couldn't let it continue and it was obvious to the staff that the woman was the instigator so they directed security towards her as the cause.

When the woman ran at Souichi with her hands out to attack, the guards got between them, "Let go of me! Who do you think I am? I am the wife of one of the patients here!"

Souichi started to take a step towards the woman when Morinaga grabbed him around his waist with one arm and covered his mouth with his other hand, "Please Sensei, calm down and let them handle it." The blonde glared at his lover and briefly thought about biting him until he noticed the pleading look in his eyes and stilled.

One of the nurses came over and quietly asked Tetsuhiro what was going on. He took one more look at Souichi and slowly let him go before replying, "She's my mother." Souichi snorted at that but otherwise kept silent. "We've been estranged for many years. She couldn't handle some facts about me, and recently she was informed that my brother is the same way. When she saw my…" he looked questioningly at Souichi.

The blonde looked at Morinaga for a moment and frowned. "Friend," he stated firmly and stepped next to the younger man who smiled tenderly at him, making him blush to the roots of his hair.

"…Friend, she lost it and started an argument. Tatsumi-san was just taking up for us; that's all."

"I feel as if there's more to this than that," the nurse looked at both men and then smiled kindly. She walked back to the security detail and reported what she'd been told. The men began to escort the woman out of the room with her screaming all the way. After they'd left and the other employees had gone back to their duties, the four men just looked at each other for a moment in silence.

"I'm sorry," Souichi began gruffly.

"Don't be" Kunihiro interrupted. "If you hadn't, I would've let her have it," he smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry you had to witness all that."

The blonde snorted again, "I can handle it! No one trashes someone I lo-uh—care about and gets away with it." He'd almost said too much, so he bit down on his emotions and shut up. Morinaga stared at him almost in awe.

"Do you? Really?"

"Of course, baka; why else would I be here!?" Souichi glared very huffily. "If you didn't matter, I'd have stayed in Nagoya," he looked at the younger man sharply. "How are you holding up? You look like shit."

"Yeah, I feel like it too," Tetsuhiro answered ruefully. "None have us have gotten much rest this week."

"Have you heard anything?" Souichi asked as he guided the younger man over to sit down on a sofa. "How's the surgery going?" he continued as he sat down next to his assistant while Morinaga closed his eyes and laid his head back against the cushions.

"We don't know yet," Kunihiro answered as he and Masaki sat down across from the other two men. "So far they're still at it and I suppose no news can be considered good news; we just don't know."

Souichi nodded, "Lousy doctors, they never give up any information until they're ready." He sighed as he looked at the man sitting next to him, "Morinaga, why don't you lay down and try to sleep? We'll wake you up as soon as anyone tells us anything."

Tetsuhiro opened an eye to look at the blonde but before he could say anything Kunihiro spoke up, "You know there isn't any reason for us all to be here every moment today. Why don't we take it in shifts? You two go back to my place for a couple hours and rest and then when you get back, we'll go. We can keep each other informed with our cells. My place isn't far, it won't take anyone long to get here. What do you think?"

Souichi spoke up before Morinaga could, "Sounds like a plan." He turned to his lover, "You look about ready to fall down, what good is that? Let's go." Tetsuhiro took one long look at the older man and decided not to argue.

"Ok, but call us as soon as  **anything**  happens!" he insisted as he glared at his brother.

Kunihiro smiled, "You got it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I originally wrote this chapter, it seemed to take forever to get it right. Since we don't have much information on the elder Morinaga's, I decided to split the difference between them; making one more sympathetic than the other. I hope it worked! ^^


	18. Chapter 17

"Come inside, Sensei," Tetsuhiro invited Souichi into his brother's apartment. Souichi stalked into the living room, still royally pissed off at the younger man's mother.

"Thanks," the blonde replied curtly. He turned to look at Morinaga, not quite meeting his eyes, "I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the hospital. I probably…maybe made a bad situation worse and it was wrong of me." The younger man noticed how difficult it was for the blonde to get the words out and smiled.

"You don't have to apologize. However I am curious why you're still so angry. I mean, I know why I am, but why are you?" Souichi finally met his eyes and roughly scrubbed his hands through his long hair, as if he was trying to get his brain to kick in for him.

"Parents…family," he paused to gather his thoughts. "I  **know**  I have a different kind of family from you but…. In my experience family does NOT behave the way she did. A mother should be a refuge, someone you know you can always run to and she will always accept you. Someone you can tell anything to without fear," he sighed. Tetsuhiro saw tears in the older man's eyes before he continued, "My mom was that kind of woman. No matter what I did, I knew…I knew I was always loved and accepted; even though she could take my head off when I screwed up—and did!" he grinned and then looked fully at Tetsuhiro. "But that…woman; agh! She's not a mother in any sense of the word! I'm sorry, so sorry, Morinaga."

The younger man gently pulled Souichi to him and held him until he began to calm down. "In a perfect world," he began softly, "all parents would be how you described. Unfortunately this world isn't perfect and no one is required to learn how to be a parent before they become one. I'm used to her and though her attitude hurts, it's not earth shattering anymore."

"You shouldn't have to be used to it!" the older man insisted, slightly shaking the younger one. "What is wrong with her anyway? It's not like you went out one day and decided, 'Today I'll become gay!' It's not like it's a choice for most people. They either are or aren't!" he looked frustrated. "I know I'm not saying it well…mph!"

Tetsuhiro pulled back from kissing his lover with a gentle smile, "Thank you Sensei, I understand and I love you for it."

Souichi decided to shut up for a bit and leaned into the embrace with a sigh, 'Shit, I needed this.…' When he finally pulled away he looked at the younger man and saw how tired he was, he was practically asleep on his feet! "Morinaga, you need a nap, you're about to fall down! Where've you been sleeping?"

The younger man led the way back to a guest room and Souichi encouraged him to lie down. Tetsuhiro did but grabbed the older man around the waist and pulled him down with him, "Oi! Morinaga what do you think you're doing? I. Am. Not. A. Pillow!"

Tetsuhiro grinned, "Could you be; for a while at least? I've missed you."

The blonde glared at him as he muttered, "If I know you, and I do, you won't stop with using me for a pillow. You need to rest, not screw around!" However he didn't move out of the other man's arms and Tetsuhiro decided to ignore the words and cuddle up to his lover.

"I promise I'll get my rest before I screw around…how's that?" he looked at the blonde mischievously. He was startled to see a twinkle of amusement directed at him from the other man.

"Liar. Go to sleep," Souichi grumbled as he got comfortable beside the very content brunette. Once he felt Morinaga's breathing even out, he turned to watch him sleep, lightly stroking the unruly dark hair off the younger man's face and said softly, "I missed you too…dammit."

* * *

A couple hours later, the two were awake and headed back to the hospital to give Kunihiro and Masaki a well-deserved break. Souichi went to find some coffee while Morinaga checked in to see how his father was doing.

"Any news?" he asked as he walked up beside the younger man. Tetsuhiro sighed as he gratefully took the offered cup and sat down.

"He's out of surgery and in recovery, in ICU," his assistant answered with a slight smile.

"That's good, isn't it?" the blonde asked.

"Yep!" Tetsuhiro looked at Souichi as he sat next to him, "When will you head back?"

The older man glanced sideways at him, "Trying to get rid of me already, hmm?" he asked mockingly.

Tetsuhiro blushed and quickly answered, "Of course not, Sensei! I'd like it if you could stay until I can return, but I know that's unreasonable so…" he trailed off as he realized his lover was grinning, actually grinning, at him.

"It's ok, Morinaga, I was kidding." He noticed the younger man's dumbfounded look and began to get irritated, "I  **do**  have a sense of humor, you know!"

"Ok," he decided to just accept that statement as it stood.

Souichi huffed and blew his bangs up and off his forehead, much to the younger man's delighted surprise, he looked too cute! "I'll have to go back early Sunday, since I'm the one filling in for you."

Tetsuhiro smiled, "Thank you for that. If Dad's recovery goes as planned, I should be back mid-week."

"Sounds good to me, it's tiring to pull double duty for very long." Souichi sipped his coffee as he continued to observe the younger man. "Did you have any time to talk to him before his surgery?"

"We talked the day I arrived and a little after that, too," Morinaga stared blindly in front of him, remembering their conversations and Souichi sat still until his assistant returned to the present.

"How was it?" he asked quietly when he knew he had the other man's attention again.

"Amazingly enough it wasn't that bad. He apologized and explained a little why he'd behaved as he had. There's no way I can ever understand his reasoning, but I do feel a little easier now."

"So you forgave him?" the blonde asked and when Morinaga nodded and shrugged; he continued with, "Will he undo that paperwork bullshit?"

"I told him not to," Tetsuhiro muttered. "I may have forgiven him his actions but that doesn't change the fact that I don't trust him. If he wants to have a relationship with me, that's fine and no amount or lack of paperwork will stop it, but I won't go through that hell again at some later date when I displease him…and I will! We have very different views on almost everything and neither of us will change."

Souichi nodded, "I'm glad if there's been some sort of resolution for you. I can't say I blame you for feeling that way. I don't know if I could be so generous."

"You're lucky, Sensei. You have a wonderful family; it's obvious how much you all love and respect each other, even when you don't agree."

"Just wait 'til you meet my old man before you make up your mind!"

"I'm looking forward to it," Tetsuhiro said simply.

* * *

By Saturday the elder Morinaga's condition had stabilized well enough for visitor's to be allowed to see him; briefly, one at a time. Kunihiro went in for the first visit and Tetsuhiro of course went in for the second one. When he came out, he had a weird expression on his face.

"Next time he wants to meet you, Sensei," he blurted as he looked at his lover worriedly.

"Why?" Souichi asked blankly while Morinaga only shrugged. "Great, I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm not the best visitor for someone recovering from major surgery; especially him."

The younger man smiled at his grumpy expression, "You'll be fine, he's not able to get worked up and you're not an evil person. You would never do anything to deliberately make him worse."

"Of course I wouldn't…but I don't like what he did to you and I'm still very angry about your parent's whole attitude." He looked pissed off for a second, "I don't think it's a good idea."

Two hours later when the next visit rolled around, Kunihiro went in and almost immediately came out again with a grin, "He isn't going to see anyone else until he's seen you, Tatsumi-san. Could you please make a quick trip in so he can get a good look at you?"

Souichi sighed, "I should have stayed in Nagoya," and went inside with the attitude of going to meet his doom. When he reached the old man's cubicle, he immediately recognized the man as Morinaga's father, they looked so much alike; and 'There goes my theory that they couldn't possibly be related.' The older man looked at Souichi and gestured for him to sit in the chair beside the bed.

"Thank you, Tatsumi-kun. I wanted to meet my son's boyfriend…." He stopped when Souichi snorted.

"I hate that term! I'm so  **not**  his 'boyfriend,' I mean, really…do I look like a boy to you?"

The older man looked amused, "Well, actually, yeah you do…to me; but let's move on. What would you call yourself, your and Tetsuhiro's relationship?"

The blonde shifted uncomfortably, "I don't know…. Professionally I'd say we were partners even if technically I'm his boss; I think that term describes us pretty well personally too."

"Partners, hmm? I like that…" he paused to catch his breath as Souichi looked at him in concern.

"Should I get a nurse?" he began to get up but Morinaga's father shook his head and gestured for him to stay seated.

"Stay put. I shouldn't talk too much, but I don't have any time to waste. There's so much I need to know…to do.…" he looked at Souichi sharply. "You must hate us, for what we did to him."

The younger man looked at him while he considered how to respond, "I won't lie; I think what you did was reprehensible. However much I may hate your actions, I don't hate you. I pity you. You willingly cut yourself off from a relationship with a truly remarkable person. He's honest, loving, and giving, sometimes too giving. He can accept me, which is a 24/7 headache," he grinned ruefully. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and if you repeat that, you won't leave here alive," he smirked.

The older man smiled, "I'm glad he found you…such a strong defender."

Souichi snorted, "I'm not so sure about that. Sometimes I wonder just  **what** he sees in me. I'm his opposite in so many ways, and don't hand me the line about opposites attracting! It may be true, but there has to be  **some**  common ground or there's no way a relationship can succeed."

"You love each other…as long as you two work to keep that, it'll work," the older man nodded with certainty.

Souichi murmured almost to himself, "Maybe…."

* * *

After the shift change, the two men were headed back to Kunihiro's apartment to get some rest. Since Souichi had to go back to Nagoya in the morning, Masaki had suggested they go back to get ready (and spend some quality time together, but he didn't say that part out loud). Tetsuhiro was curious about what had happened between his lover and father but the blonde hadn't been too forthcoming.

"See, it didn't go badly," he said encouragingly to Souichi.

"Yeah, it would've sucked if I'd caused a heart attack," he responded moodily. He was still thinking about that discussion with the old man and it bothered him. He glanced sideways at his lover and sighed. He was a goner, and he knew it; his heart was pounding just looking at the idiot. 'So what do I do…run away or dive in?' as he looked at Morinaga he made his decision and decided to face it head on. He refused to act like a coward!

When they entered the apartment, the blonde turned to face Morinaga and with a look of pure determination he reached out to draw the younger man's head down to his own and kissed him avidly. Tetsuhiro was floored; Souichi wasn't one to initiate anything without some encouragement. The older man continued to kiss his lover and then slowly let his lips and tongue trail down to the base of Tetsuhiro's neck where he latched on to suck, eliciting a moan from the younger man. Tetsuhiro reached around Souichi's back and let one hand trail down to his ass to squeeze and draw the blonde in closer to him. Souichi's hands began to roam over Morinaga's chest until they found the buttons and began unfastening them. As he pushed the shirt off to pool around Tetsuhiro's arms, Souichi moved his enticing mouth slowly down scattering kisses as he went until he latched onto a nipple. He gave it a slight nip and then licked the sting away and quickly moved over to give the other one the same treatment. Morinaga was groaning at the stimulation and holding onto the other man as if his life depended on it, all the while rubbing their lower bodies together. As they separated he panted, "W-what's got into you tonight?"

Souichi, breathing heavily, gave him a complicated look; part lust, part fear, and part something else Tetsuhiro couldn't decipher, "Shut up! Nothing has, I just…" he trailed off as they made it to the bedroom and he pushed his lover onto the bed. He gave Morinaga a smirk as he began to undress before him. The younger man rose up onto his elbows to watch the show in amazement. He really didn't know where all this was coming from but he wasn't about to do anything to mess the mood up.

"Sensei…" he sat up on the side of the bed as the beautiful man before him finished undressing and sauntered over to the bed as he took his hair down and threw his glasses on the nightstand. Souichi bent over to run his fingers through the soft brown hair and tilted the younger man's face up to kiss him again. Tetsuhiro reached around and drew his man down into his arms and laid him on the bed beneath him. When he looked at him again, the expression on his lover's face was so nakedly plain that Tetsuhiro couldn't believe he hadn't recognized it before. Love as well as lust was reflected in those amber eyes as they gazed at him. This realization sent a wave of heat straight to the younger man's groin and he moaned again.

He leaned over as he threw off his shirt and captured the very willing mouth in a heated kiss. Souichi grinned into Tetsuhiro's lips and ran his hands over the muscled chest and around to press his hands into the brunette's back to draw him in closer. He slowly wrapped his legs around his lover's waist and slowly arched his back to bring as much of himself into contact with the other man as he could. Tetsuhiro pulled away in shock and looked closely at Souichi. There was no doubt there anymore. The older man looked completely wanton and totally unembarrassed. His eyes were half-lidded and he was panting from need. He was the most incomparably sexy creature Tetsuhiro had ever seen and he was, finally, all his!

Tetsuhiro backed up and fumbled trying to get his pants off, growling in frustration as his hands didn't want to behave. Souichi grinned and sat up licking his lips as he helped the younger man release himself from the now constricting clothing. Once Tetsuhiro was freed and had kicked said pants into a corner, he leaned back over his lover as they relaxed onto the bed. The younger man began to explore his lover's body with both his hands and mouth and Souichi once again wrapped himself around Tetsuhiro's body, thoroughly enjoying the sensations. The pleasure from the friction of skin on skin was mind-blowing to both men and the room was quickly filled with the sounds of gasps and moans from both of them.

"Mori—ah ngh," Souichi arched his back against his lover, "I want to feel you inside of me."

When Tetsuhiro heard that whisper, he thought he'd misunderstood until he looked into the now demanding eyes of his lover. His eyes darkened with his own desires and he got harder, if that was even possible. "You want me? Inside of you?" When the blonde nodded he reached his hand out to gently touch his lover's lips, "Then you need to suck these."

As the blonde sucked and laved Tetsuhiro's fingers, wetting them as much as he could; the younger man watched in awe, his mouth slightly open in shock. This was a side of Souichi he'd never seen before. Gone were the excuses, protests, and embarrassment; he was completely open and giving himself up to Tetsuhiro completely. It was amazing and the younger man refused to examine this miracle any closer. He decided he'd figure it all out later.

When his fingers were saturated, Tetsuhiro went about preparing his lover. While he began fingering Souichi, the younger man bent over to take his erection into his mouth in order to keep his lover's mind off what was happening in back. Souichi was completely overwhelmed by the sensory overload he was receiving and with a gasp of, "Coming!" he arched his back again and shot his load down Morinaga's throat. After the younger man had sucked him dry he pulled off to reposition himself between Souichi's legs.

"Sensei, are you sure?" the brunette asked in a sultry voice as he positioned his head at his lover's entrance. "You want me to take you now?" Souichi finally focused on the sound of Morinaga's voice and the feel of the younger man against him and gave a push up to cause the other man to breach him. Tetsuhiro claimed him in one stroke not stopping until he was completely seated inside his lover's tight heat. It felt so right he had to hold still so as not to lose it immediately. When he had himself back under control he looked at Souichi to make sure he was ready and received a growl as his answer. He took that as a positive sign and began to swiftly thrust into his lover.

When he finally hit Souichi's prostate and heard him scream his name, what little control he had shattered and he continued to drive into his man repeatedly. God he loved to hear him scream in passion. Tetsuhiro wanted nothing more than to drive his lover over the edge of ecstasy and then dive over after him. When Souichi came again, Tetsuhiro wasn't far behind and with a shout shot off deeply into his lover. He rode out the waves of pleasure while continuing to thrust into him at a slightly slower pace until both their bodies calmed down. Tetsuhiro pulled out and turned the blonde onto his side facing him with his head resting on his chest. As he stroked through the mass of silky hair spread over him he asked, "What was all that about, Sensei?"

Souichi sighed around a tired chuckle as he looked at Tetsuhiro, "Don't you get it yet, moron? I love you…and my name's Souichi. You can use it you know."

Tetsuhiro looked at his man and as his words sunk in, tears began to fall and he tightened his hold on the one person who meant the whole world to him, "Souichi…."

 


	19. Chapter 18

"Shit I need coffee," Souichi groaned as he threw his pen across his desk and rubbed his head. He'd been home for almost two weeks, talking irregularly to Morinaga whenever there was time. The younger man's father was steadily recovering and Souichi was looking forward to seeing the brunette soon. For the time being he'd been trying to grade papers written by overly pretentious first years who actually thought they had something original to say; hence the need for coffee. He turned when he heard a chuckle from across the room.

"You sure you want coffee, or would something stronger be better?" Tetsuhiro was standing just inside the doorway smiling provocatively at the older man.

"Morinaga! When did you get home?" he jumped up and quickly slammed the door as he pulled the younger man further into the room.

"Just now, I only stopped by my place to drop my bag," the brunette's hands slid down to his lover's waist and pulled him in for a brief kiss. "Did you miss me?" he purred against Souichi's lips.

The older man pulled back glaring and huffed, "Of course I did! Do you have any idea how inconvenient it's been teaching both our classes and all our labs!?" He looked at Morinaga more intently, "So, how'd it all go? Will you have to return anytime soon?"

The younger man smiled, "Dad's doing much better; he'll be released on Friday and is going to stay with Kunihiro for a while so he won't be alone if anything goes haywire."

"With your brother? What about his wife, can't she take care of him?" he looked both angry and confused.

Tetsuhiro sighed and appeared embarrassed, "She went to Tokyo for an extended visit. We don't know how long she'll be gone."

"Is she running away?" the blonde glared back; he absolutely could not understand that woman.

Morinaga shrugged as he pulled Souichi closer and set his head on the other man's shoulder, "I don't know or care at the moment, I'm just glad Dad is getting better." He sighed and chuckled, "I could also use a nap…care to be my pillow?" Souichi grinned, reached up to rub his back and just as things were getting interesting, the door flew open and both men jumped apart guiltily.

"Nii-san, I think I just saw Mori…" Kanako's voice faded away as her eyes registered what she'd seen, "You know you two should really learn how to lock the door," she grinned smugly as she put actions to words and then walked into the room to quickly hug Tetsuhiro. "Welcome home! We were wondering when you'd make it back," the brunette grinned down at her as Souichi came up beside him and quietly slid an arm around the younger man's waist.

"Yes he's back and we were getting caught up when you barged in! Most people knock before storming in to a professor's office; everyone except you it seems!" he sounded intensely irritated, but his eyes told a different story when she looked in to them. He seemed calmer somehow …more content? Tetsuhiro gazed at him and gently covered the hand at his waist with his own as he smiled down at the blonde, who of course glared back with a slight blush. Kanako couldn't help but watch the byplay with delight.

"So does all this," she waved at them, "mean what I think it does?" She held her breath, eyes wide, hoping she wouldn't be disappointed.

Her brother turned his glare to her as he huffed out, "So, what do you think it means?" As she waved her hands at the two men and began to blush, her brother went on, "It means…that three is a crowd." He gently escorted her out the door; shut it in her face, finally locking it. As he sauntered back to his lover he whispered, "Now where were we?"

* * *

About a month later, the two men heard that the elder Morinaga's had separated due to "irreconcilable differences" over their sons choices. Tetsuhiro was stunned, he hadn't seen that one coming and Souichi was pleasantly surprised. He'd assumed once the old man was out of danger, he'd revert back to being a complete asshole; but that seemed to not be the case.

Time passed very quickly for the two men. Once Souichi managed to clear his head of his fear and confusion he turned Tetsuhiro's world upside down. The younger man walked around pinching himself; he couldn't believe the blonde was finally his. Even though Souichi understood, it was still aggravating to have to constantly reassure Morinaga that, yes he wasn't kidding; and no, he wouldn't change his mind.

The week of Souichi's birthday, Kanako decided to have everyone get together to celebrate. As far as she was concerned it was time for her brother to let the rest of the family know about the change in his relationship with Tetsuhiro. Both men had made her promise to keep quiet and it was killing her! So she was determined to get them to 'fess up before the night was over. They wound up back at Kanako's after the meal to allow Souichi to open his presents: he received a book on poisons from Isogai, a bottle of sake from Kanako, and a lovely folio of lithographs that Tomoe and Kurokawa had somehow found on one of their frequent trips to the States. However the best present was the last one from Tetsuhiro. He'd handed Souichi a gift box from one of the top jewelry design companies in Japan and as he opened it the blonde glared at his over-the-top lover who just couldn't figure out that he felt uncomfortable being showered with outrageous gifts. Then he saw what lay in the velvet-lined box and he quickly looked up at the younger man.

"Are you sure?" he asked, somewhat in shock with narrowed eyes.

"Of course," was Tetsuhiro's smiling reply. Then Souichi shocked everyone by putting down the box and grabbing his lover for a rather fierce lip-lock. When the rest of the family finally looked to see what was inside, Kanako squealed in delight.

Lying in the luxurious box was a very simple house key.

* * *

As fall blended into winter the two men began moving in together. It wasn't as big a step as they let on; Souichi had practically moved in already, as Kanako continuously pointed out. All that was left was what the older man had put in storage after his separation from Wakana the previous year. It didn't matter; the important issue was that Souichi seriously wanted a life with Tetsuhiro and the younger man was the happiest he'd ever been.

"Hey Souichi, where do you want this?" the younger man asked as he walked into the spare bedroom they were turning into the blonde's office.

"Hmm?" Souichi looked up distractedly. Morinaga was carrying another box of books. "Just put it anywhere over there," he waved in the general area of the far wall. As he straightened up frowning he sighed, "There's no way all this shit is going to fit!"

"It looks like we need another bookcase," Tetsuhiro agreed with a grin.

"At least one more," the blonde grumped. "How many boxes are left?"

"About ten more, but most of them are labeled 'papers,'" his lover responded as he set his load down.

Souichi leaned back on his heels as he sighed, "Good, I'll get all the papers filed then we'll know what else we'll need to get this place organized."

Tetsuhiro sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and waved his lover over, "C'mere love, let's take a break."

Souichi glanced over at the younger man distractedly, "You're tired already? You have  **got**  to be kidding me, where's your stamina?"

Tetsuhiro glared, "Excuse me? Who's been doing all the lifting today? All you've done is the unpacking. That's decidedly less tiring than what I've been through." His voice suddenly changed as he continued his rant, gaining a seductive huskiness, "And I'll have you know, my stamina is perfectly fine."

Souichi grinned at his lover's tone, "Then prove it…by bringing in the rest of the boxes."

Tetsuhiro grinned as he clambered onto his hands and knees and somewhat predatorily stalked toward the blonde, "Oh, you did not just say that!" As he reached the older man sitting across from him he whispered against his lips, "What am I going to do with you?"

Souichi's stomach clenched in anticipation, "So I take it, you aren't gonna finish what you started?"

"I'll finish it…later," he murmured as he claimed his lover's more than willing mouth. Before Souichi knew what was happening, he was flat on his back and firmly pressed against his lover's length. They were just settling into a rather heated make out session when they heard the doorbell ring. Tetsuhiro groaned, "Great, just great!" As he began to pull away from his lover's heat, Souichi sighed in disappointment and the younger man helped him up and they went to answer the door.

"It's about time! What took you two so long? And why did both of you answer anyway?" Kanako bounced in carrying what looked like half the grocery store. "I thought you'd be completely immersed in unpacking, Nii-san."

"We'd decided to take a break right before you arrived," her brother answered, grumbling. "Why are you here anyway? Don't you have better things to do with your time, like wedding stuff?"

"There won't be anything else to worry about until after New Year's, then the real madness begins!" she looked excited at the idea. "I came 'cause I thought you would like to have lunch and this way you don't have to cook it," with that statement she began to unload her bags and set out the meal she'd prepared for them.

"Thank you so much, Kana-chan!" Tetsuhiro enthused. "It looks wonderful," he glanced at his lover when he heard a growl, "Sensei, don't you think it was extremely nice of her to go to all this trouble?" The brunette had begun to only refer to his lover as 'Sensei' when the older man was behaving unreasonably or selfishly. Of course Souichi had picked up on it and the term had begun to act as a kind of mirror for him to take a step back and look at how he was acting. Due to this, he had begun to hate the title whenever Tetsuhiro uttered it.

"Yes, it was nice of her, thank you Kanako," he ground out between his teeth as he sat down to eat. 'I just wish she'd waited a bit longer!' he thought as he tasted the wonderful meal. Tetsuhiro was frustrated too but he refused to make the young woman feel bad due to her lousy timing. They had a lovely lunch and saw Kanako off afterwards; even Souichi made an effort to be a gracious host for the bulk of the meal.

He was still sitting at the table when the younger man returned from seeing their guest out. As the brunette walked up behind him and leaned over to nuzzle his neck, the blonde let out a soft moan and shifted a bit in order to expose more area for his lover's attention. Tetsuhiro smiled and moved to help Souichi up in order to continue what they'd begun earlier, this time in their bedroom.

* * *

The move was finally finished by the time school let out for the winter break and the two men were glad the vacation wouldn't be taken up with more unpacking. They both wanted to spend the time together to continue to deepen their relationship as well as getting used to each other's living habits. This wasn't meant to be however; their families kept interrupting. Every time they settled down together Kanako would come over with food or Tomoe would call asking them over to visit. By the time they were sorted out, Kunihiro began calling them over for a visit. Even Tetsuhiro was beginning to get antsy over all the interruptions. He was kicking himself over being such a soft touch and giving in to all the invitations when Souichi finally put his foot down. He pulled out the home phone, powered down the computers, turned off and hid both their cells and double locked the doors New Year's Eve. By the time Tetsuhiro was finished with dinner he had the table set and had even turned down the lights and lit some candles.

"Souichi," the younger man looked around as he set their plates down, "what's all this for?"

The blonde blushed, grateful for the low lighting, as he poured some wine for both of them, "All this…what?"

Tetsuhiro chuckled as he kissed his lover gently and softly answered, "There's a very romantic feel to this room and I know I didn't do it, so…why?"

Souichi wouldn't meet his eyes and muttered, "It's our first New Year's together…we haven't had much time alone…and why not?" He looked up both flustered and irritated, "It felt right, ok!?"

"Ok and I love you too."

Dinner was quickly forgotten as the two began to kiss, each touch exciting them more and more. Before long they were back in the bedroom exploring each other with hands and tongues, almost feverishly undressing and throwing clothes every which way to get down to skin on skin contact. About the time Souichi's mind shut down and he sank into the pleasure he was experiencing, the doorbell rang. They both ignored it. It continued to ring and then someone began to knock.

Tetsuhiro sighed as Souichi ground out, "It better not be Kanako again…and if it is she'd better have a damn good reason!"

The younger man pulled his pants back on as he headed to the front door, "I just hope it's not some sort of emergency." At that comment Souichi began to dress as the brunette left the room. Tetsuhiro pulled his shirt on as he reached for the door, not bothering to button it. "What is it this time…?" his words died as he saw an older man he didn't recognize standing in the foyer. "Who are you?" he asked sharply, only family members were allowed up without security announcing them. This man was certainly not anyone the brunette knew. He was older, fiftyish. He had a moustache, and wore his graying hair in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck and he had…Souichi's eyes.

"Morinaga, is it my idiot brother or interfering little sister?" Souichi asked as he walked up behind his lover. The younger man turned to him with a surprised look on his face as he stepped aside for the blonde to see.

"Old man!?"

 


	20. Chapter 19

"Seriously, Dad; what are you doing here?" Souichi demanded as the older man entered the living room. "You weren't supposed to be here for another three months!" Tetsuhiro quietly stepped into the foyer to carry in the suitcases (and pull his clothes back together).

Soujin threw his arm around his son's shoulders as they headed for the sofa, "Well Son, I wanted to spend time with my kids before the wedding! You know, I thought it would be a nice surprise for all of you if I stayed awhile," he grinned at his frustrated son.

Souichi hmphed as he sat down and noticed Morinaga heading for the kitchen, "I guess it was a surprise—for you, huh?"

"Yeah," his father sighed. "Kanako told me she couldn't entertain me until the month before the wedding and Tomoe is out of the country again. That's why I'm here!" he looked so hopeful, Souichi couldn't be too unkind to him.

"Fine, you can stay—but only until Tomoe comes back. I've just moved in here myself and you throwing yourself into the mix isn't fair to my roommate." The blonde kept glancing towards the kitchen and saw Tetsuhiro quietly come out and set a tray of snacks and coffee down on the dining table and then go into his office with a smile directed towards the two men.

Soujin began looking around the apartment, "Hmm, when Kanako told me where you were living, I have to say I was shocked. Have professors salaries gone up enough to afford a place like this?" He looked at his son questioningly, his head cocked to one side.

"Of course they haven't! This place belongs to Morinaga, my roommate. You know the guy who answered the door?" Souichi felt like he was losing control of the entire conversation.

"Ahh! I see…why? Who is he?"

"He's my assistant," his response got a rather startled reaction.

"That doesn't make sense. How can he afford this place when you couldn't, if he's an assistant?" the older man looked confused.

Souichi took a deep breath; his patience was wearing thin, "A few years back, do you remember my mentioning a man by the name of Morinaga…Tetsuhiro Morinaga? He had just developed a new process for recovering soil for farming. It shortened the time fields needed to remain fallow and in turn it increased farmer's yields. It's had a huge impact on developing nations…and not so developing ones as well." When his father nodded he continued, " **That's**  my assistant. When he retired he decided to try his hand at teaching and applied here because the university is where he received his degree."

Soujin was impressed, "So you were looking for an assistant when he applied?" his son nodded. "He offered you a place to live now that Kana-chan is getting married?"

"You could say that," Souichi smirked a little. "That's enough for now, Dad. Let's get you settled, we can talk more tomorrow."

* * *

Souichi groaned when Tetsuhiro placed a cold compress on his forehead as the blonde tried to relax on their bed, "How does that feel, Souichi?" The blonde opened his eyes to look into the concerned green ones of his lover.

"Fine," he muttered. "Why did he have to come home  **now**?"

"Is it so bad that he came back early?"

"I guess not, but I thought I had more time—we had more time," he closed his eyes again.

"Is it so terrible? Are you regretting…this?" Tetsuhiro's chest felt tight but he had to hear the answer. Souichi flinched and quickly sat up in order to reassure the younger man.

"No! It's fine and I don't regret anything! Quit with the paranoia." He ran his hand through his hair as he continued, "I'm just not sure how to tell him there'll be no grandkids to carry on our name. I know Kanako will have kids, at least I hope so, but they'll be little Isogai's. I don't think he'll have a problem with us as a couple but it's pretty certain that there won't be any little Tatsumi's running around either; unless someone figures out how to impregnate men," he finished rather dryly.

The brunette thought about that for a second and his eyes began to twinkle, "Even if they could who says they'd be Tatsumi's? They could just as easily be Morinaga's. To a certain extent, that would make more sense."

Souichi couldn't believe they were having such a ridiculous conversation but he continued, "You're much more nurturing than I am, could you honestly see me—me!—carrying a child to term? I'd do something stupid and end up miscarrying or something!"

Tetsuhiro laughed at the silliness and embraced his lover, "We might not be able to conceive children, but you'd make a wonderful daddy if we ever ended up with them." Souichi was shocked at the younger man's tone and looked at him closely to determine if he was kidding. He decided Tetsuhiro was sincere, and was flabbergasted.

"You really do love me, don't you," he asked in quiet wonder as he stared at the younger man.

Tetsuhiro grinned, a bit confused, "Well, duh! I thought I'd made myself clear on that point!"

"It's just there's no way you'd really think that unless you were completely gone on me; talk about love being blind!" he grinned and leaned against his lover who proceeded to stick his tongue out at him.

As the blonde chuckled Tetsuhiro asked, "Did he give any reason why he came back so early?"

"Only that he wanted time to 'get reacquainted' with his family, whatever that means." Souichi groaned again, "He wants to spend time with each of us, a few weeks at each of our homes, and it seems we got the short end. I hope that's ok, Tetsuhiro?"

The younger man sighed, "Of course it is; I'd like to get to know him better anyway. It'll be fun to become familiar with the man who raised the one I love."

The blonde blushed, "You just had to go there, huh?"

* * *

When Soujin woke up the next morning, he was confused for a bit. The room was unfamiliar and impersonal enough to belong in a hotel, but his fuzzy mind knew it wasn't. Then it came to him where he was and he quickly sat up. Once he was dressed, he headed back towards the living room and as he approached he heard two men's voices coming from the kitchen.

"Mo-ri-na-ga," he chuckled when he heard his son's growling voice, "move so I can get to the toaster."

A laugh came floating back to the older man in the living room, "No way,  **Sensei** , the last time I trusted you, we had to evacuate due to the smoke! You can make the coffee and set the table."

"You're  **never**  gonna let me live that down…are you," Soujin was startled to hear the warmth in his son's voice, that was new. He ducked down to hide behind the sofa and watched unnoticed as the two men walked into the room.

"No way, Souichi; it's too much fun teasing you about it," the brunette from last night placed a platter on the table and then drew the other man in close to kiss him. That had said man's father gaping, especially when his son didn't punch the bigger one.

As Souichi pulled away, he threw an irritated glare at the younger man and began to walk back to the kitchen, wiggling his hips slightly, "Then teach me how not to burn down the place!"

Tetsuhiro quickly joined him and grabbed him around the waist from behind, "Anytime, love; but I'd rather let you burn down the bedroom with me…"

The older man heard a muttered "Ass!" as the two men went back into the kitchen.

Gaping, he stood up, 'Okaaay that was different….' Suddenly Morinaga came back into the room, laughing and Soujin could see a towel sailing after him. The younger man stopped when he saw his lover's father, who grinned and winked at him, "That's right! Don't take any crap off him!"

"Ahhh, uh huh," was about all Tetsuhiro could get past his lips. It was obvious that the older man had heard them and even though he seemed fine, the brunette wasn't so sure he'd actually heard enough to figure things out. Souichi barreled through the door next and abruptly stopped. His father could tell he was trying to decide how to act so he took control of the situation.

"Son, come here and sit down for a minute, you too Morinaga-kun," he smiled, sat at the dining table, and proceeded to fill a plate with the delicious breakfast Tetsuhiro had put out. The two younger men sat down warily, glancing at each other. Soujin grinned as he watched them, "Relax, boys. I heard (and saw) the whole thing."

Souichi tried to bluff but since he was flushed a deep crimson, it didn't work very well, "Just what did you see, old man?"

His father crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward, "I heard you discussing the toaster, and saw you snuggling. It was very cute."

Tetsuhiro looked relieved, "Are you ok with this then?"

Soujin smiled and cocked an eyebrow as he asked, "Are you two happy together?" When the two men nodded, he added, "Then, yes, I'm ok with it."

"Why?" Souichi was startled to hear the question from Morinaga and shot a questioning look at him. "Souichi, I need to know why."

The blonde nodded in understanding and looked at his dad, "I'd kinda like to know that too. You had a fit when Wakana and I married, and almost refused to come to the wedding, why are you ok with this?"

The older man looked serious and asked, "What do you think of Tomoe's choice of partner? Other than that he's a man, is he a good choice for your brother?"

Souichi thought, "They're good together and that damn Kurokawa has been wonderful for Tomoe…as much as I hate to admit it," he added reluctantly.

"And what about Kana-chan's choice of husband? What do you think of him?"

"Well, he's too old…but…he adores her. It's so obvious every time I see them together and I think they'll make a good match," he sighed.

Soujin sat back, "That's all I wanted for the three of you, I wanted you all to find life partners; people who could walk by your sides as support and comfort. People who would honestly work with you to make a life together and I knew you didn't have that with Wakana. Your marriage was a declaration of war against Tomo-chan's choice of partner and of  **course**  I hated it. I knew you wouldn't be happy together, that sooner or later it would end. I know you two loved each other, but it wasn't the kind of love spouses should have."

"But…you're alright with us being together? Even if our name dies out and your only grandkids are Kanako's?" Souichi leaned forward and watched his father's face closely.

Soujin smiled, "Are you happy? Do you want to make this relationship work? Is he that important to you?" When Souichi blushed, looked down, and then slowly nodded he continued, "That's all that matters."

Tetsuhiro had been following the conversation very closely and when he saw his lover's responses, he had to reign himself in tightly to keep from tackling the blonde on the spot. Souichi had simply made him happier than he'd ever imagined. To be a part of this man's life was more than he'd ever thought possible…and to be accepted by his family blew him away. It was simply amazing!

As the three men finished eating, "Well, boys, I'm heading to Kanako's today to meet her man and I don't know when I'll be back but it'll probably be late. You two have fun," he winked as he closed the front door, leaving the younger men staring after him.

Tetsuhiro glanced at Souichi as the blonde began to clear the table, "So that's you dad? He's amazing…."

His lover snorted, "He's irritating! I don't get him at all at times."

Tetsuhiro carefully replied as he approached Souichi, "He's a good parent…you're very lucky. When I was younger I'd have given anything to have a father like that." Tetsuhiro's eyes darkened as he stood in front of his lover and he leaned in to nuzzle the blonde's neck, causing a shiver to run through the other man. "Why don't you put the dishes down before you drop them, Souichi," he murmured as he moved from the older man's neck to his shoulder and nipped. Souichi thought it was a good thing he was still near the table so he could at least hope not to break anything as he let it all fall back. He grabbed a hold of the younger man's upper arms and let the big idiot guide him into their bedroom, kissing and nipping at him the whole time.

The two men collapsed onto the bed with Morinaga pinning Souichi to the mattress. Straddling his hips, the younger man began to remove his lover's shirt and then his own before bending back down and repetitively running his tongue over and around one of the blonde's nipples, then moving over to the other one and quickly had Souichi arching into his touch. As the older man's groans got louder, Tetsuhiro ran his tongue lower until he'd worked his way down to Souichi's pants. He then quickly removed both the pants and his underwear and sat back to gaze at the beautiful man beneath him.

Souichi looked up wondering what was taking Morinaga so long to get on with it and as he caught sight of the expression on the younger man's face he began to blush. He'd never seen Tetsuhiro look so…hungry before. He was completely turned on by the expression alone and he stiffened even more and groaned. That shook Tetsuhiro out of his daze and he smiled as he lowered that wonderful mouth onto Souichi's erection. As his mouth engulfed Souichi, the blonde groaned again and louder than before. He buried his hand in Morinaga's soft brown hair and threw back his head in pleasure as he felt the younger man begin to suck. The brunette smiled against the hot shaft in his mouth and hummed as he bobbed his head along it, licking over the tip as he rose and lightly sucking as he sank.

Souichi couldn't gather his thoughts anymore, he was so lost to the pleasure his lover was bestowing on him, but he felt like something was missing. As he felt his body clenching it dawned on him what it was and he very reluctantly pulled Morinaga's head up. When the younger man's confused eyes met his he panted out, "You...in me…now!" and relaxed back as comprehension dawned. Tetsuhiro grinned in understanding and went back to work, this time grabbing the lube they had next to the bed and slathering both himself and his fingers before he bent down again. This time when he went down on his lover his fingers began to tease their way into Souichi's entrance. He quickly felt the blonde's reaction when he found his prostate and he smiled again. Once Souichi began impaling himself on his fingers, the younger man pulled out and off, aligned himself, and quickly plunged in. Souichi arched his back and cried out even louder than before as Tetsuhiro set a hard pace driving in and out of that tight heat doing his best to hit Souichi's prostate over and over again. It was over almost too soon for both men; once the brunette's hand began to stroke Souichi in time with his thrusts, the blonde screamed and came violently between them, Tetsuhiro following soon after with a groan of his own.

The two men lay entwined with each other, panting as their bodies began to calm down. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a bit until Tetsuhiro caught Souichi's eye and with an impish twinkle asked, "Are you ready for round two?"

 


	21. Epilogue

The day would be beautiful. The weather forecast was for clear skies, gentle breezes and a high of 75°F; no one could hope for a better wedding day. Kanako was almost sorry they'd decided to have an indoor ceremony. All three of her closest male relatives were grateful that the day was here so they could just get it over with and let her go back to normal. She was so nervous about everything going well; she was driving them all insane. Tetsuhiro was the only one who could talk any sense to her and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the hullabaloo. The Tatsumi males were more than willing to let him run interference for them.

The phone began to ring at 6am the morning of the big day. Souichi groaned as he reached for the damn thing while Tetsuhiro tried to burrow under the covers, "What is it now Kanako!?" He listened for a bit and huffed, "So what if Dad is bringing a guest? …Really?" the younger man poked his head out from the blankets at his partner's tone. "Huh, well I guess we'll find out  **then** , won't we? Look Kana, it's too early for this shit! You woke us up; call it good for now! We'll see you later at the chapel….Bye."

"What was all that about?" Tetsuhiro asked in amusement as he watched Souichi scrub his hands through his hair and sigh heavily.

"Seems the old man managed to throw her for a loop; he told her last night he was bringing a guest to the wedding, and just now left for the airport to pick  **her**  up. Kanako is completely freaking out," Souichi was sitting up and grinning at the thought of his sister's words. "She's upset because she's going to be out of town for a week-long honeymoon and won't be able to get to know her 'future step-mom,' her words not mine!"

"Is your father really dating?" Tetsuhiro asked with a grin.

"How should I know? She's probably his assistant; I think he had a female one the last time we talked about his work," Souichi yawned and lay down again. "Could you make the coffee this morning, I really want to be lazy for a bit longer."

The younger man's expression softened as he leaned over to kiss his lover, "Sure; let me spoil you a little today."

The blonde gave a soft snort, "You spoil me too much as it is."

"Just 'cause I love you."

* * *

Souichi and Tetsuhiro arrived at the chapel early enough to talk to Kanako and as they were getting their bearings two hands reached through the door next to them and yanked them inside the dressing room. The young woman looked absolutely lovely draped in soft white lace. The dress was empire style and the skirt flared around her every time she moved. Tetsuhiro noticed Tomoe off in a corner and decided to leave the brothers alone with their sister. He kissed her on the cheek and murmured to Souichi, "I'll find us some seats," as he left.

"Ok, Kanako, give us the details," Souichi grunted as he sat down on a loveseat. She sat down next to him with a frown.

"What do you think of Daddy dating?" she asked in a worried tone.

"So you think he's found someone?" Souichi leaned forward and then glanced toward Tomoe. "Would that be so bad, you two?" As far as he knew, their father had never even looked at another woman after their mother died. He felt it was about time the old coot got back in the saddle again; however, he wasn't sure that was the reality here. He'd always felt as if a large part of his dad had died with their mother. "Personally, I hope he's dating and serious about her!" He added as he saw their surprised looks, "It would keep him out of our hair, right?"

"Nii-san!" Kanako jumped up and looked like she wasn't sure if she should chastise him or laugh. "It's fine if she's worth it and makes him happy, but why bring her today? It's not like she's family or anything!"

"Then should I tell Mitsugu to go home?" Tomoe walked forward to ask.

"And what about Morinaga, is he not welcome either?" Souichi threw his two cents in for good measure. He knew what her reaction would be and he was right.

"Of course not! Don't you two dare do that!" she whispered fiercely as the two men shared a look. "They're both members of my family, I know and love them….I have no clue who this woman is. She'd better be good enough for him!"

"You also don't know exactly what she is to Dad. You may be right; but what if she is just his assistant? You really need to stop assuming," Tomoe answered with a gentle smile. "I don't want Dad to be alone anymore, so I'm hoping for a full-on love affair," he added for good measure.

"Oh, you two are…! I never thought I'd see the day you  **both**  became hopeless romantics!" she chuckled still torn between amusement and frustration.

The door opened before anyone could say more, "Can I join in?" their father smiled as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

As Tetsuhiro walked into the chapel, he looked around for a good place to sit and see the whole ceremony. There was room on the bride's side, fairly close to the front so he chose a seat and put the program on the bench next to him to save a place for Souichi. As he relaxed and waited for his lover to join him, he noticed a woman sitting in the row in front of him. She was looking around with bright eyes, smiling and greeting anyone who caught her eye. She looked over her shoulder at him and grinned, "Hello, it's a lovely day isn't it?"

Tetsuhiro returned her grin, "Yes, it is…perfect for a wedding!"

About then some of Kanako's friends came up to him to say hello and the lady heard them call him Sensei so after they walked off she continued, "Are you the bride's brother, Souichi? I know she has a brother who's a teacher."

"No, I'm his assistant and also a sensei," Tetsuhiro answered. "My name's Tetsuhiro Morinaga…and you are?" he held out a hand as he looked at her curiously.

She flushed a bit but answered, "I'm Soujin's personal assistant, Elizabeth Hall. We've worked together since he came to teach in England."

'Ahhh, so she's the one Kana's so wound up about,' he thought as they continued to talk. She was fluent in Japanese with only a very slight accent, blonde, blue-eyed, and at a guess he'd have put her in her forties. She was also very well-spoken and bubbly; he figured the women would get along great once they met.

They had just entered a very lively discussion of the different teaching methods between their home countries when Souichi walked over and sat down. Tetsuhiro quickly made introductions and the two shook hands before she turned back to the front.

"So, how did it go?" the brunette murmured.

Souichi gave him a droll look as he leaned over to whisper, "We snapped her out of it, she'll be fine." He indicated the woman in front of them and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'What do you think of her?' His lover gave the thumbs up sign and the blonde visibly relaxed. Shortly after that Tomoe joined them and was introduced; the four chatted amicably until the music began, signaling the beginning of the ceremony.

Isogai and Kurokawa entered from the right side door near the front of the chapel and turned to the back.  Everyone stood as the bride entered. Kanako looked breathtaking; Tetsuhiro could feel tears at the back of his eyes and valiantly tried not to let them show. Souichi just handed him a handkerchief and rolled his eyes while his lover sniffled beside him. As the music ended and the couple took their places at the front; one very proud papa placed his only daughter's hand into the hand of her husband and turned to sit down. He noticed Morinaga-kun unashamedly wiping his eyes as his son simultaneously patted him on the back and tried to look like he didn't know who the idiot was.

The older man considered his three children and how not one of them had chosen a spouse or partner he would have picked for them if he'd been that kind of parent. Thank the gods he wasn't such a heavy-handed jerk for all his children had found their soul-mates if he was any judge, and he couldn't have been prouder of them. So, Soujin could only swallow a grin as he sat beside his future, held her hand and watched his last child leave the nest.

 

~ The End ~


End file.
